Marvel Rivals runs on a calendar. Every season layers timed missions, themed cosmetics, and rotating game modes on top of the core 6v6 hero shooter, giving players short-term goals between major content drops. The events fall into a handful of distinct types, each with its own rewards and rules, and several usually run at the same time.
Quick answer: There are two in-game event types, Season Events and Special Events, supported by Event Passes, Log In Rewards, Store Events, and Lucky Draw Events. As of late June 2026, Season 8.5 (Sins of Alchemax) is live, with the Rivals’ Summer Festival 2026 running from June 18 to July 30, 2026, and the Devil Dino Hide and Seek season event running through July 10, 2026.
Event types in Marvel Rivals and what each one gives you
The game separates events by how you earn rewards. Season Events follow the seasonal story and Battle Pass, while Special Events usually wrap around a limited-time Arcade mode or a cluster of sub-events. Outside the client, there are also Twitch Drops and brand collaborations.
| Event type | How it works | Typical rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Season Events | Themed to the season’s Battle Pass and story; missions unlock as the event progresses. | Cosmetics, gallery cards, and more. |
| Special Events | Built around an exclusive Arcade mode or a set of sub-events with unique missions. | Direct rewards or special currency to buy cosmetics and gallery cards. |
| Event Passes | Mini Battle Passes that run alongside the seasonal Battle Pass. | Tiered free and premium rewards. |
| Log In Rewards | Short windows where simply logging in grants an item, sometimes after visiting the store or Times Square. | Cosmetics or in-game currency. |
| Store Events | A cosmetic is made available or re-available to buy for a limited time. | Limited-time costumes. |
| Lucky Draw Events | You buy attempts to pop balloons containing randomized cosmetics. | A featured costume plus its cosmetic set. |
How Season Events work
Season Events are tied directly to each new season’s Battle Pass and narrative. They contain a set number of missions that open up as the event runs its course, and clearing those missions rewards cosmetics, gallery cards, and other items. One event ships per season, and durations have grown over time, from 28-day events in the early seasons to 56 to 63 days more recently.
| Season | Season Event | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Season 6 | Whac-a-Jeff | 1/16/26 – 3/20/26 |
| Season 7 | Dual Life of Peter Parker | 3/20/26 – 5/15/26 |
| Season 8 | Devil Dino Hide and Seek | 5/15/26 – 7/10/26 |
Special Events and limited-time modes
Special Events are usually centered on an exclusive Arcade mode or a bundle of sub-events, with their own missions that unlock over time. Many follow a clear theme, like Fortune & Colors for Lunar New Year. Finishing challenges and missions pays out either directly or in a special currency you spend on cosmetics and gallery cards, and the store often stocks matching costume bundles while the event is active.
The limited-time modes are the part that changes how you actually play. They introduce alternative rule sets so familiar maps and heroes feel different, sometimes by changing objectives, adjusting abilities, or restricting team makeups. Past modes include Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival, Clash of Dancing Lions, Giant-Sized Hive Mind, and Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol. The game also added PvE content, starting with Marvel Zombies and followed by Blood Hunt, which arrived on April 23, 2026.
Note: some Arcade modes rotate out. Clone Rumble, Giant-Sized Brain Blast, and Conquest (Annihilation) were removed in the December 18, 2025 Winter update, so a mode being playable in one season does not guarantee it stays.
What is live now in Season 8.5 (June 2026)
Season 8.5, titled Sins of Alchemax, anchors the current event lineup. The headline Special Event is the Rivals’ Summer Festival 2026, a summer-themed celebration with several sub-events grouped under a Hellfire Bay Beach landing page.
| Event | Type | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Rivals’ Summer Festival 2026 | Special Event | 6/18/26 – 7/30/26 |
| Devil Dino Hide and Seek | Season 8 Event | 5/15/26 – 7/10/26 |
| Blood Hunt | Special Event / PvE mode | 4/23/26 – 7/30/26 |
| Krakoan Reels | Event Pass | 6/18/26 – 7/30/26 |
| Shenloong Tournament | Event Pass | 6/12/26 – 7/10/26 |
| X-Press Juice | Log In Reward | 6/18/26 – 7/10/26 |
| 616 Vault (2026) | Store Event | 6/12/26 – 6/26/26 |
The Summer Festival splits into sub-events including Tandem Tides, Pop & Win, X-Press Juice, Krakoan Reels, Van Dyne’s Swimsuit Shop, Summer Snapshot, and Uplifting Welcome. Tandem Tides lets you connect with up to three teammates and complete missions to earn Tandem Tide Points; when either connected player finishes a mission, the other receives the same points, and the track unlocks 600 Units plus exclusive cosmetics. X-Press Juice is a login event that hands out 1,500 Limited-Time Units across seven days, but those Units disappear when the event ends.
How Lucky Draw events charge you
Lucky Draw events look like a gamble but have a hard ceiling. Each piece of a cosmetic bundle sits inside a balloon, and you buy darts to pop them. The price per dart rises with every attempt, drop rates are not equal, and you never receive a duplicate. The moment you pull the featured costume, every remaining item in that pool unlocks for free, so the total cost to clear all balloons is capped at the standard price of a bundle of that rarity.
The Summer Festival’s Pop & Win is a clean example. It offers Doctor Strange’s Nautical Mystic and Emma Frost’s White Wave Queen, costing as little as 150 Units if you are lucky on early pulls, or up to 3,600 Units to clear both costumes outright. Buying a dart for one costume also takes 50% off your next dart on the other.
| Attempt | Cost | Cost with discount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 Units | 50 Units |
| 2 | 200 Units | 100 Units |
| 3 | 300 Units | 150 Units |
| 4 | 400 Units | 200 Units |
| 5 | 600 Units | 300 Units |
| 6 | 800 Units | 400 Units |
Note: under local laws in Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands, the costume bundle can be bought directly instead of through the draw, and the 50% second-costume discount still applies.
How to make seasonal events worth your time
Most event progress comes from playing matches you would play anyway. Daily and weekly missions ask for things like completing or winning matches, dealing damage, securing assists, or landing final hits across Quick Match, Competitive, Arcade, or Practice Vs. AI. Because limited-time modes sit outside ranked, they are a low-risk place to test lesser-used heroes without touching your rank.
The main thing to watch is timing. Every event has a fixed end date, and some rewards, like Limited-Time Units, vanish when the window closes. Check each event’s start and end dates, prioritize the tracks with rewards you actually want, and clear daily missions early in the cycle so you are not racing the clock at the end. You can download and play Marvel Rivals for free on PC and console to take part.
With the Summer Festival, Devil Dino Hide and Seek, Blood Hunt, and two Event Passes overlapping through July, Season 8.5 is one of the busier stretches the game has run, and most of it rewards you for simply showing up and finishing a few matches each day.
