While Overwatch has officially overtaken Marvel Rivals when it comes to player count, the two hero shooters will undoubtedly continue to compete for a long time, one-upping each other at every turn. For players like me who adore both games and see them as “two cakes,” this competition is a godsend, and will hopefully continue pushing both titles to innovate for years to come. Overwatch outperforming Marvel Rivals will inevitably lead to NetEase dropping a big update of its own, potentially embracing the PvE element that Overwatch has abandoned. And in the meantime, players can continue to compare their existing elements, with cosmetics being just one of many categories to look at.
Both of these hero shooters have consistently great skins, and that hasn’t changed in recent weeks. After blowing players away with Lady Loki, Marvel Rivals has since released an event pass that gives Rocket a Panda costume and Jeff a ducky outfit, and these skins are as cute as they sound. On the Overwatch front, Blizzard kicked off Season 1 with a new Mercy Mythic and a lore-themed Battle Pass that completely sticks to the concept, all of which are phenomenal. And on top of all this, both games have given players some romantic cosmetics to celebrate Valentine’s Day. In the spirit of the holiday, and the enduring competition between the two games, it’s worth taking a look at which game makes better use of this particular concept.
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Marvel Rivals players have many issues with the game, though my point of frustration differs from others’, as I’m most annoyed by my main’s fashion.
Marvel Rivals Takes a Lore-Heavy Approach for Valentine’s Day
While her brief fling with Magneto is something that many X-Men fans try to ignore, Rogue’s romance with Gambit is as beloved as it gets. The feisty southern belle and Cajun card-thrower have an excellent dynamic that Rivals has gone all in on, as the pair is married in NetEase’s multiverse. To honor the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. X, NetEase released a special bundle featuring the outfits worn by the bride and groom in the Season 5 intro and gallery cards.
In addition to these two skins, the Mr and Mrs. X bundle includes:
- 2 sprays
- 2 animated name cards
- 2 emotes
- 1 highlight intro (usable for both Gambit and Rogue)
This is the second proper set of wedding skins in Marvel Rivals, as Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman also got a suit and dress a while back. In Marvel Rivals’ Season 6.5 update, the Fantastic Four outfits were updated with special Ultimate VFX. Storm also has a wedding outfit, but Black Panther lacks one as of now.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
While two skins isn’t much for Valentine’s Day, as there are plenty of characters players would have liked to see don some pink and red skins, the quality over quantity approach is hard to complain about. Both of these skins are genuinely phenomenal; I love the colors, hairstyle, and suit design for Gambit. And as someone who loves playing Vanguard (especially Rogue), I snagged her wedding dress the second I could. The earrings, combination of gold and white, and hair are all awesome on this Rogue skin, and I love that her engagement ring is clearly visible. Sure, some may have nitpicks — maybe they’d have preferred a longer dress for Rogue or Gambit’s stubble from the initial art — but I couldn’t be any happier with these outfits personally.
Overwatch 2 Showers Players in Top-Notch Skins For Valentine’s Day
While Overwatch doesn’t embrace any popular ships with its Valentine’s Day skins like Marvel Rivals did, it makes up for that with the sheer amount of memorable cosmetics. Overwatch has a history of nailing Valentine’s Day thanks to skins like Cupid Hanzo and the Loverwatch dating sim, and fortunately, it’s keeping the streak alive in 2026. The following skins are all available in Overwatch right now:
- Heartbreaker Lifeweaver
- Heartbreaker Hazard
- Heartbreaker Domina
- Cupid Juno
- Cupid Kiriko
- Charming Soldier: 76
- Romantic Symmetra
A vast majority of these skins look great, though some are obviously better than others. For example, Hazard’s Heartbreaker skin is decent enough, but a bit basic and similar to his base attire. Lifeweaver’s looks good thanks to the stained-glass petal on his back, but it’s ultimately a recolor of his Eros design, and not every player likes when Overwatch goes the recolor route. Fortunately, Domina nails this fashion theme with a truly phenomenal design that differs from her base look and, since she’s one of Overwatch’s five new heroes, isn’t a recolor of an existing Legendary. I really love this one; am I biased because I’ve quickly become obsessed with her personality and gameplay? Yes, I am. But still, the outfit is appropriately flashy and elegant, the way her extra Hardlight appendages make a broken heart really brings home the theme of the skin, and her updo is gorgeous.
Symmetra’s skin? Stunning, as I love the winged weapon, heavily stylized hair, and pastel purple arm. Kiriko’s skin? Yet another win for the ever-spoiled Kiriko community (I play a lot of Mercy, so I can’t really judge), as the short pink hair, rose accents, and themed healing ofuda all look great together. Juno’s skin? Yep, it’s also a winner; I especially dig the arrow on the end of her blaster as well as the loose white outfit and hairstyle, as everything comes together to help Juno nail the Cupid theme far better better than Kiriko did (even though Kiri still looks great). Really, the only skin that I don’t have much good to say about is Charming Soldier: 76. Sure, I know most cosmetics have no lore connection, but it just feels odd and out of character to see Overwatch’s resident dad dressed like this. His face looks a bit off, too, so while I appreciate the knight-like heart armor, this one is a pass for me. I’ve just never wanted to play as a Shrek 2 villain, personally.
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And The Winner Is… Overwatch — Here’s Why
This was a surprisingly difficult choice for me to make, but it comes down to a few different things. Obviously, there’s the skin count to consider. Out of every skin highlighted here, my favorite is undoubtedly Rogue; I love her dress and hair, I play her a ton, and the costume symbolizing her bond with Gambit gives it an extra special touch. However, I wouldn’t trade this skin for the Domina, Juno, Kiriko, and Symmetra outfits, as all of these also look great (and I really needed a proper Domina skin since she’s so fun). It’s a case of two truly stellar skins against six very good ones (and Charming: 76 is… also there, sorry not sorry), and in a game where a lot of the fun comes from playing a bunch of unique characters, quantity does matter. But there’s a more important reason than just skin count that helped me choose a winner: how the skins are handled.
Overwatch’s Valentine’s Day cosmetics are all sold in the shop like any other skin, boasting the usual bundle price (or a bit higher in the case of Domina, since she has an emote and highlight intro alongside the outfit). As always, players who just want to get the skin can do so via the hero gallery, and they have to spend no more than the price that’s shown to get what they desire. Unfortunately, with the new Gambit and Rogue skins, Rivals‘ controversial gacha system is back. In theory, this could be seen as a good thing, as players could get the skins and all the other items on their very first popped bubble (getting the skin instantly unlocks everything else). In reality, the chance of this happening is so low that most players will end up spending 3,000 units to get everything, unlocking the skins on their very last pull.
While I wasn’t worried about Marvel Rivals’ gacha system when it came to Psylocke’s New Years skin, as it was realistically quite beneficial for a single hero, everyone worrying that it could be a slippery slope has now been proven right. Having two skins tied to the same batch of gambling is problematic, as players are likely to spend way more than they normally would have. The overlap between Gambit and Rogue mains likely isn’t all that big, as they’re a Strategist and Vanguard respectfully. Because of this, there are likely many players who just wanted the Rogue items, and vice versa, but through this system, they’re forced to get both. Unlike the Psylocke skin, which could be viewed as either a full-price normal bundle or something that lucky players got cheaper, players who only want Rogue or Gambit are likely to end up spending more than they would have normally since the skins can’t be bought individually. Given this lack of transparency, I can comfortably say Overwatch did Valentine’s Day better this year.
- Released
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May 24, 2016
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Blood, Use of Tobacco, Violence (online interactions not rated)
- Engine
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Proprietary
