Short answer: Not on the evidence so far, though autumn has been slow. Marvel Rivals averaged 67,795 concurrent players on Steam in September 2026, according to Steam Charts. That is down 15.4% from August and well off the July average of 84,281. It is also more people than most multiplayer games will ever see on their best day.
The question is circulating again this week because a screenshot of the Twitch directory made the rounds on X, showing Overwatch pulling a much bigger live audience than Marvel Rivals at one particular moment. Twitch snapshots are a mood. Steam numbers are at least a measurement, so here are those.
The Steam numbers
From Steam Charts monthly averages:
- January 2026: 88,790 average, 199,788 peak
- February 2026: 65,150 average (down 19.9%)
- June 2026: 69,738 average
- July 2026: 84,281 average, 196,974 peak
- August 2026: 80,129 average
- September 2026: 67,795 average, 146,426 peak
- Last 30 days: 64,916 average
The all-time peak is 642,333, set during the launch rush. Nobody should expect a hero shooter to hold its launch number, and nobody has.
When we checked the Steam API at 5:25 a.m. Phoenix time today, it reported 29,554 players. That looks grim until you remember it was 5:25 in the morning. Our Marvel Rivals tracker logged a 24-hour high of 70,052, which is the daily rhythm doing what daily rhythms do.
These are Steam-only counts. PlayStation, Xbox, and the Epic launcher aren't included, so the real population is larger by an amount NetEase hasn't published.
The pattern is the point
Look at February. The average fell to 65,150, almost exactly where it sits now. Then new seasons arrived and the game climbed back to 84,281 by July. Marvel Rivals has been running on a loop: a season launches, players return, the season settles, players drift, the next season launches.
September's dip came in the back half of Season 10, which launched Sept. 11 with Gorr the God Butcher as the new Duelist, per NetEase's Season 10 announcement. A 15% monthly drop late in a cycle fits the loop. A second and third month of drops with no rebound would be a different story. We'll be watching November.
What Season 10.5 adds
The official Season 10.5 patch notes say the update goes live Oct. 9, 2026, at 09:00 UTC (2 a.m. Phoenix and Pacific), with about two hours of maintenance. It brings:
- Path to Doomsday - Avengers: Infinity War, a 12-player mode where six duo squads fight over the Infinity Stones. It runs through Dec. 11.
- Infinity Finale, a season event with a free Thor costume from The Avengers. It runs through Dec. 10.
- Alchemax Headquarters added to the 18v18 mode.
- New Thor and Spider-Man lore, new store bundles, and a round of Twitch Drops through Nov. 6.
There is no new hero in this half-season. That matters, because new heroes have been the main thing that brings lapsed players back. A limited-time mode built around a movie that came out in 2018 is a softer pitch.
Bottom line
Is Marvel Rivals dead? No. Is it dying? Not on this evidence, though it has shrunk from a summer high, the same way it did last winter before it recovered. Check the live Marvel Rivals player count after Oct. 9 to see whether Season 10.5 moves the line.
The game has 64,916 average players and an identity crisis about Twitch. Plenty of games would trade.
Published Oct 8, 2026. Steam-only figures from Steam Charts and the Steam Web API; console and Epic players not included. Game artwork © NetEase Games / Marvel; Steam store assets for app 2767030 used editorially only.