Marvel Rivals Season 8.5 Adds Cyclops and 18v18 Mode

The competitive hero shooter Marvel Rivals will introduce its first major mid-season update on June 12, 2026, headlined by the arrival of Scott Summers, Cyclops, and a new 36-player game mode. The update, labeled Season 8.5, will be available globally on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Cyclops will join the roster as a Duelist, a damage-focused class. His gameplay kit centers on his optic blasts, which can be fired directly or ricochet off environmental surfaces to hit enemies behind cover. A key mobility ability allows him to use the kinetic recoil from his beams to propel himself backward or upward for tactical repositioning. His ultimate ability, described as a wide, vertical sweeping laser, is designed to deal significant area damage, posing a particular threat to airborne characters.

The season also introduces a significant new competitive mode, Bounty Annihilation, which features 18-versus-18 player lobbies with no restrictions on hero selection, allowing for multiple copies of the same character on a team. A new map, the Kun-Lun Shenloong Arena, will host this mode and other gameplay, featuring a mystical tournament setting with vertical chokepoints.