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GDC Festival of Gaming
March 9-13, 2026
Moscone CenterSan Francisco, CA
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All Sessions Speakers

'Marvel Rivals': The Untold Launch and LiveOps Journey Behind Tens of Millions of Players

Launch
Yachen Bian  (Publishing and Marketing Lead, NetEase Games)
Location: Room 2014, West Hall
Date: Tuesday, March 10
Time: 11:50 am - 12:20 pm
Pass Type: Festival Pass, Game Changer Pass - Get your pass now!
Audience Level: All
Track: Discovery & Marketing, Business Strategy
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: Video
Audience Level: All
Yachen Bian

Marvel Rivals achieved 10 million players signing up within 72 hours of its December 2024 launch. Within three months, the game had over 40 million users, peaking at 644,000 concurrent players on Steam.
The Publishing and Marketing Director of Marvel Rivals unveils the operational strategies behind this success, establishing Marvel Rivals as a premier live-service hero shooter.
Attendees gain actionable frameworks for building player-centric communities through real-time sentiment tracking and co-creation tools; executing effective publishing aligned with the IP lore; optimizing content cadence and transforming monetization through transparent systems; and enabling live-ops agility via cross-functional team synchronization.
These methodologies provide a replicable blueprint for launching and sustaining hit live-service games.

Takeaway

Attendees will discover actionable frameworks for building hit live-service games through player-centric publishing, including the 48-hour feedback system, creator community structure, and player-led Discord model from Marvel Rivals.

Intended Audience

The intended audience for this presentation includes game marketing/publishing managers, community managers, game developers, and live-ops practitioners. It also welcomes those seeking behind-the-scenes insights into Marvel Rivals' operational framework.