Marvel Rivals Brave New World Promo Makes Cash for Resellers

First, a little backstory. Marvel Rivals is a recently released PvP shooter set in the MCU that has quickly picked up a strong playerbase. If you’re a Marvel fan looking for something new to play, this is probably your best option.

And the developers have been quick to take advantage of their IP by promoting crossovers with major Marvel releases. One of these is Captain America 4: Brave New World, which released on Friday. Ahead of its premiere, Regal Theaters promised a promotional bundle aimed at Rivals players.

Regal Crown Club members that bought tickets for Brave New World at participating theaters before February 17 would receive a download code for an exclusive Marvel Rivals bundle. This included a spray, in-game nameplate, and “mystery skin.”

With the movie’s focus on Harrison Ford as Red Hulk, it seemed like a perfect crossover opportunity for Marvel Rivals with the game’s inclusion of Hulk as a playable character.

Rumors quickly took off among players that the mystery skin was in fact Red Hulk, and the bundle became a must-have item for digital collectors. Naturally, resellers were quick to jump on the opportunity.

Players rushed to buy Marvel Rivals Red Hulk codes, and at their peak we saw them flipping for up to $150 at a time. Remember, neither Regal nor the Rivals developers ever confirmed that the skin included actually was Red Hulk; players were just eager to believe that it was.

This message took some time to circulate in the community, and it wasn’t until just before the movie’s release that players finally realized they were being bait-and-switched, although they had done the majority of the baiting.

And prices for these codes quickly crashed on eBay. Once players realized they weren’t getting anything special, they were no longer interested in the digital bundle.

So, why are we talking about it? For starters, a lot of resellers did make money on this bundle. Even though Red Hulk wasn’t actually included, the popular perception was already set, and players had no issues forking over cash to get a bundle.

Sometimes, you just need to jump on an opportunity as a reseller. There was a brief window of time where the hype around these was strong enough for them to flip but before the Rivals team killed the speculation, and a reseller that got in on it was able to make some cash.

Conversely, it’s also a good lesson to gamers that you shouldn’t put so much trust in a rumor. If you’re going to throw $60, $70, even $100 at a third party seller for a digital code, you should at least know what you’re spending that money on.

Or not. People making impulsive decisions with their paychecks are a major source of income for resellers, so we’re not complaining. If you want to learn more about flipping and catch other hot products before they sell out, make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter.