Marvel Rivals shifted to UE5 due to a significant technical hurdle in 2019

Marvel Rivals has become a massive success, drawing over 20 million players in just a month. The 6v6 team-based shooter sees iconic Marvel heroes battle it out in destructible environments and with team-based abilities. Developed by NetEase Games, the game leverages Unreal Engine 5 to deliver stunning visuals and dynamic gameplay.

A recent Unreal Engine blog titled Unreal Engine Powers Marvel Rivals to Create a New Multiverse of Marvel Heroes revealed more details about the title's development. It sheds light on the challenges the team faced and how they overcame them, including the decision to switch from UE4 to UE5 during development. More on that below.

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Why Marvel Rivals switched to UE5

Marvel Rivals originally started development in 2019 using Unreal Engine 4. However, the team faced a major issue with its core environmental destruction system. The technology struggled with production efficiency, physics simulation, and overall performance. Additionally, traditional lighting techniques couldn’t properly support the game’s destructible environments, causing further limitations.

The complexity of Dr Strange's visual animations (Image via NetEase Games)

Unreal Engine 5 provided a solution through two key features: the Lumen global illumination system and the Chaos physics system. Lumen allowed for realistic dynamic lighting, while Chaos enabled better destruction effects. NetEase decided to upgrade to UE5 in early 2023 for these features, completing the transition in about three months.

According to the blog, this upgrade drastically improved both visual quality and gameplay performance, allowing for dynamic environments while maintaining smooth gameplay. Despite the risks of switching engines mid-development, the team believes the move to UE5 was a crucial turning point in the game's success.

Beyond the engine upgrade, NetEase Games worked closely with Epic Games to optimize hero abilities, combat balance, and performance. They enhanced UE5’s Game Ability System (GAS) for smoother combat mechanics and used Niagara VFX for more efficient visual effects.

Doctor Strange’s portals, one of the game’s most complex features, were originally built using Scene Capture but were later optimized with a ViewPort split-screen solution to improve performance.

If you are interested, you can read the official Unreal Engine blog here for an in-depth explanation.

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