Marvel Rivals' second year is turning into one massive advertisement for some big movies coming out this year, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.Last night at a special event in Los Angeles, NetEase Games revealed Marvel Rivals: Path to Doomsday, a series of in-game events to tie in to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and eventually culminate in the massive Avengers: Doomsday film on Dec. 18.Image via NetEase GamesA series of movie tie-in events playable in Marvel Rivals kicks off next month with homage to the original Avengers movie from 2012. As part of it, a new Loki costume inspired by the character's design in that movie will come to the game, alongside a special new game mode."In this asymmetrical PVP mode, one player plays as Loki, facing off against six other players who play as different heroes," NetEase said. "Loki is equipped with an all-new skill set, combining deception, illusions, and powerful Infinity Stone abilities to turn enemies against each other! To claim victory, the other heroes can also summon Hulk under certain conditions, recreating iconic scene from the film."And you know what? This just sounds great to me. As a lifelong Marvel fan, and early MCU adopter (I saw Iron Man in 2008 at midnight release), I think that the company using Rivals to promote and celebrate big movie releases is kind of awesome. The events will continue with Avengers: Age of Ultron in June, Avengers: Infinity War in August, Avengers: Endgame in October, and of course, Avengers: Doomsday in December, with all of them having similar promotions within.It's no secret that the general public's interest in the MCU has waned over the past few years, and Avengers: Doomsday is looking to bring everyone back in with a star-studded cast that includes Fox's X-Men characters, and Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom himself. As a comic book nerd, I've always enjoyed the best and worst of what Marvel Studios has done. I never could've imagined seeing the heroes of my childhood come to life on the big screen, so I find a way to glean joy from just about anything. This collaboration with NetEase feels like an extension of that.Utilizing Rivals to celebrate previous Avengers movies is really smart. Age of Ultron could have a PvE event starring Ultron, while Infinity War and Endgame could include Thanos and other villains, leading in to December's Doomsday release where we could see new heroes inspired by that movie show up. If I was a betting man, I'd say we might see Cyclops and even Doctor Doom or Doom 2099 join the roster to coincide with it.Image via NetEase GamesNetEase's cadence of updates since launching has been impressive, and although the game's player count has dipped in recent months, Marvel fans and hardcore gamers alike seem to always come back for big updates such as these.With a new playable hero scheduled each month (season 7 beginning soon should add Black Cat and White Fox) along with other additions like maps, skins, modes, and game systems, it sure feels like Marvel Rivals is in it for the long haul. And with a near-endless backlog of material to pull from, let alone just the MCU, it's easy to see how.The post Marvel Rivals content in 2026 is looking like one big MCU commercial, but I’m not mad about it appeared first on Destructoid.