Marvel Rivals Season 9.5 Adds Vanguard The Hood, Slashes Install Size by Up to 40GB
Marvel Rivals’ Season 9.5 update goes live on August 7, 2026, bringing the villain-turned-Vanguard The Hood into the roster alongside a sweeping storage overhaul that NetEase Games says will shrink the shooter’s install size by roughly 40GB on PC and 15GB on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Season 9.5 arrives August 7, 2026 (UTC) on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with install size dropping by roughly 40GB on PC and 15GB on consoles via an asset compression pass. The half-season patch also folds in a new balance pass, fresh cosmetics and a revamped storefront format.
The update, officially numbered Version 20260807, was posted on the game’s official website, with the update going live on Friday, August 7, 2026. Maintenance is scheduled to begin at 09:00 UTC and run for roughly two hours, according to the official patch notes.
Parker Robbins Joins as Marvel Rivals’ Newest Vanguard
The headline addition is The Hood, criminal-turned-sorcerer Parker Robbins, who slots in as the game’s newest Vanguard tank. Parker Robbins was a common criminal who came into possession of demonic gear including a cloak that grants him powers, and in the game his abilities include switching between human and demon forms, dual pistols, and using his cloak to create protective shields for allies; when transforming into his demon form, his dual pistols change his entire arms into assault rifles. He can also throw dark magic orbs that warp into barriers, weakening incoming enemy fire.
The character’s arrival ties into ongoing in-game lore involving Moon Knight and the Tablet of Death and Entropy. In the game’s lore, The Hood has been locked up for murdering Gambit, and volunteered to unlock the secrets of the Tablet of Death and Entropy, an artifact used to communicate with the dead, while Moon Knight uses the tablet to discover his true killer: a new wielder of the Necrosword. NetEase confirmed The Hood is voiced by WWE wrestler and New York native Damian Priest, continuing the developer’s pattern of recruiting real-world talent for its expanding hero pool.
Texture Compression Overhaul Trims 40GB From PC Installs
The most consequential change for everyday players may be under the hood rather than on the roster. Creative director Guangguang detailed the fix during the Season 9.5 Dev Vision broadcast, explaining that as the Marvel Rivals universe expands with every season, so does the file size, and in Season 9.5 the team is implementing a massive texture compression overhaul without sacrificing a single pixel of visual fidelity, drastically shrinking the game’s footprint on hard drives.
Breaking down the numbers further, official patch details indicate the reduction varies by platform: PC is expected to decrease by roughly 30%, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 by around 20%, and PlayStation 4 by about 7%. Players should brace for a bigger-than-usual download before seeing that payoff, however, since because the team is completely repackaging these assets, the initial Season 9.5 update will be larger than usual, but the final installed size will be much lighter.
The move mirrors a broader industry push toward leaner live-service installs, following similar optimisation work on other major online shooters earlier this year.
Peni Parker Reworked as Balance Pass Touches 18 Heroes
Season 9.5 isn’t just cosmetic and technical — the mid-season split brings a genuine meta shake-up. Marvel Rivals is getting a new set of balance adjustments for heroes across all three roles, with changes touching 18 heroes and their Team-Ups, including buffs, a few nerfs, and several adjustments. Vanguards in particular come out ahead, as most Vanguards have been buffed in this pass.
Peni Parker takes the biggest hit. Her signature crowd-control tool is getting curbed, with a complete rework to her Cyber-Web Snare, significantly curbing her ability to CC enemies at a short cooldown. By contrast, there are no changes to Luna Snow in Season 9.5, leaving one of the roster’s most consistently strong supports untouched heading into the split.
Summer Festival Vol. 2 and New PYO Store Bundles Land August 13
Cosmetics fans have plenty to look forward to as well. A fresh round of beachwear is inbound, with a new wave of Swimsuit Special skins arriving in the shop after the update, including outfits for Star-Lord, Winter Soldier, Scarlet Witch, Black Cat, Storm, and Magik, while a follow-up event brings even more seasonal content. Forbes reported that the update includes customizable Lady Loki animations, the return of Krakoan Reels, and a full balance pass, with the Summer Festival Vol. 2 event beginning August 13 and bringing new swimsuit cosmetics.
The in-game store itself is also changing shape. According to the official patch notes, with over 2 new costumes released weekly, the Store introduces the new PYO format, letting players check which specific costumes and Emote Emojis they want to include, with the price automatically adjusting based on the selection. Importantly, the adaptive price of the PYO Bundle remains exactly the same as previous standard bundles for equivalent content, meaning the new pick-your-own format shouldn’t cost players more for the same items.
Marvel Rivals remains free-to-play across PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and the Season 9.5 patch is scheduled to roll out simultaneously worldwide — meaning Kiwi and Australian players will see The Hood and the storage savings land at the same moment as the rest of the globe once servers come back online.
Read also: Fortnite Sprite Update: Peely Hours, Web Shooter Event, Gem Sprites Land This Week
Join the Conversation