Status: Confirmed. Marvel Rivals Season 9.5 launches on August 7, 2026, with server maintenance starting at 9:00 AM UTC and lasting roughly two hours. This mid-season update runs for five weeks, adding The Hood as a new Vanguard, a run of weekly costumes, and several limited-time events before Season 10 arrives on September 11, 2026.
Quick answer: You can play Season 9.5 once the August 7 maintenance ends. Servers go down at 9:00 AM UTC, and access returns after about two hours. Season 9.5 then closes on September 11 when Season 10.0 takes over.
Release time: August 7, 2026, 9:00 AM UTC (maintenance start)
Season 9.5 weekly roadmap and dates
Content drops week by week across the five-week window. Here is every confirmed addition and the date it goes live.
| Date | Content |
|---|---|
| August 7 | New hero: The Hood; Creed of Akkaba event; Store Pick Your Own bundle (The Hood “Sinful Blackout”, Iron Fist “Furious Flow”, Moon Knight “Fist of Khonshu”); new accessory Madrecita Plush |
| August 14 | Swimsuit Special costumes (Scarlet Witch, Magik, Storm); Lady Loki animation customization; Black Widow “Aquatic Assassin” Ultimate VFX; Krakoan Reels Vol. 2 event; Devil Dinosaur “Best Buddies” emote |
| August 21 | Cyclops and Phoenix “Hellfire Gala” costumes; Daredevil “Attorney at Law” costume |
| August 28 | Peni Parker “Van Dyne Designs”; Angela “Queen of Hel”; Squirrel Girl “Clan Akkaba” costumes |
| September 4 | X-Men ’97 Season 2 collaboration costume; Ultron “Street Style” costume |
| September 11 | Season 10.0 begins |
August 14 is the heaviest week. The second wave of summer swimsuit skins arrives, Lady Loki gains a system that lets you toggle exclusive movement and ability animations from the costume menu, and the Krakoan Reels Vol. 2 event opens with swimsuit rewards for Black Cat, Winter Soldier, and Star-Lord. Some of those skins are expected to be Premium-only.
The Hood: the new Vanguard
Parker Robbins, better known as The Hood, joins the roster as a Vanguard on day one. He is a gun-wielding tank who taps into his Oblivion Cloak to harness dark energy and shift into a demonic state. His Ultimate is the Gun Devil, and his launch skin, Sinful Blackout, leans into that darker demonic look.
The Hood arrives alongside a full round of hero balance changes. Expect buffs and nerfs across Vanguard, Duelist, and Strategist heroes when the update goes live, with the complete patch notes landing at launch.
Creed of Akkaba event and free rewards
The Creed of Akkaba is the first event of the mid-season and starts shortly after launch. It runs as a seasonal event pass where you level up to unlock rewards. The free track grants Punisher’s Sandstorm Soldier costume, with a Premium upgrade available for additional cosmetics.
Smaller install size on PC and console
Season 9.5 also trims the game’s storage footprint through texture compression, without lowering visual quality. The initial download for the patch may be larger than usual, but the installed size drops afterward.
| Platform | Expected size reduction |
|---|---|
| PC | Around 40GB |
| PS5 / Xbox | Around 15GB |
When Season 10 begins
Season 9.5 ends on September 11, 2026, when Season 10.0 takes over with a new hero, a fresh Battle Pass, and its own content roadmap. Details on Season 10 remain under wraps for now, so no full contents list is confirmed yet.
You will know the update has landed when the August 7 maintenance ends and The Hood appears as a selectable Vanguard in the hero roster, with the Creed of Akkaba event live on the events page. Marvel Rivals is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series consoles.
