Every Character in Rivals 2 Will Be Free...Forever

Trent Murray | Jul 20, 2024

Upcoming platform fighter Rivals 2 dropped a huge announcement on the Evo stage last night. Developer Aether Studios revealed that the game will never require players to unlock or pay for future characters.

ALL characters in Rivals 2 will be FREE

No paid DLC characters, no grinding! pic.twitter.com/4LUcufkLf3

— Rivals of Aether // Rivals 2 (@RivalsOfAether) July 20, 2024

The game will offer paid skins as a way to create ongoing support, but once a player has purchased the base game they will always have access to the full roster of characters.

Related Article: Wrestling Bug Wins Rivals 2 Character Contest

This is another positive development in a string of good news for the studio behind cult hit Rivals of Aether, which recently became the first game signed to Offbrand Games, the game publisher spearheaded by popular creators Ludwig Ahgren and Pirate Software.

"We acknowledge this is a big risk" said creator Dan Fornace on Twitter/X, "but as players, we are hopeful this could be how fighting games are handled in the future."

Monetization has been a big topic of discussion for the Fighting Game Community in recent years. While Brawlhalla has found monumental success as a free-to-play title, other games like Multiversus received significant pushback for restricting access to characters and necessary gameplay elements. Most top-tier fighting games like Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6 charge full price for the original game and still have DLC seasons and charge for premium cosmetics such as the controversial Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tie-in for SF6.

While there is currently no shortage of good will for the game, it will be up to Ather Studios and Offbrand Games to deliver a top-notch game and prove fighting game players are willing to support a title they love for the long haul through cosmetics alone.

Rivals 2 will release later this year and is available now to wishlist on Steam.