Marvel Rivals is about to get absolutely chaotic. NetEase has revealed an 18 vs 18 Annihilation game mode that moves the shooter from its standard 6v6 into 36-player clashes on a new map called the Grand Garden, and it goes live on Nov. 27, 2025. The change is straightforward and brutal: instead of two teams of six duking it out, you now get two teams of 18, which throws every ability, ultimate, and projectile into a single battlefield. That amplifies everything that made the game loud and fast, more ultimates stacking, more team-up abilities, and far more chances for a single hero to swing a fight.
NetEase says there are no restrictions on hero selection in the mode. That means players can spam identical hero picks, yes, that includes armies of Jeff the Land Shark, or mix lineups to chase combo potential and flank windows from dive heroes. Expect weird metas to form quickly given the freedom. The Grand Garden map sits under the gaze of the Grandmaster and is built around domination-style objectives where teams must clear entire enemy squads. With 36 players on a map, positioning, respawn flow, and area control will matter more than ever; fights that would be small skirmishes in 6v6 could become massive, multi-hero brawls here.
NetEase is pairing the new mode with the Galacta’s Gift Anniversary event. Players who log in during the event can earn 2,500 Units and a free legendary Jeff skin, and the event introduces cosmetics for Jeff the Land Shark, Blade, Venom, Invisible Woman, and Mister Fantastic. The mode and event arrive together on Nov. 27, 2025. From a competitive and technical angle, 18v18 raises questions. The server and performance hit of 36 simultaneous players will be the first hurdle; players who followed recent fixes and hotfixes for freezes and GPU crashes will be watching how the game handles the surge. On the design side, expect NetEase to tweak respawn timing, map flow, and respawn penalties to avoid constant, never-ending spawn fights.
For now, the mode promises more of the chaotic, ability-forward gameplay that fans of Marvel Rivals already expect, only louder and more crowded. NetEase’s choice to remove hero restrictions will likely create short-term copycat lineups and some hilarious spectacles as players test what works at scale.
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Marvel Rivals
Developed by NetEase Games
