Marvel Rivals has become Shroud’s latest competitive pursuit. But is he actually creating an organization?
Shroud, the celebrated streamer, and former esports professional has turned his sights to Marvel Rivals. The hero shooter, released in Dec. 2024, has rapidly become a global phenomenon. Across both Steam and Twitch, Marvel Rivals has been topping the charts since its release.
Since the closed alpha test in May 2024, Shroud has been enjoying his fair share of Marvel Rivals. During his Twitch Rivals Final Day stream, where his team finished in the top 4 of the event, Shroud praised the game, declaring it as the game he might play for "the rest of [his] life".
I might have to make a donation goal for [Fragathon Donation Tracker] to hit something, and I make an org for Marvel Rivals only. I might need to do that. I might be playing this game for the rest of my life.
I genuinely might be playing this game for the rest of my life.
Marvel Rivals' massively successful start
Despite only releasing in December, Marvel Rivals has made a huge impact. With its free-to-play model, engaging gameplay, and strong support from NetEase, the game secured its place as a staple in the hero shooter genre, quickly overtaking incumbent Overwatch 2.
The $200,000 Twitch Rivals tournament showcased its competitive potential and further cemented its popularity among viewers and players alike. The game has already ranked at #4 on Twitch and boasts over 300k average players on Steam. So, it's no surprise that streamers have joined in on the fun, too.
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Marvel Rivals - Superhit or Shroud's latest hype cycle?
Shroud singing the praises of a shooter is nothing new. Over the last few months, Shroud claimed that Deadlock would "take over the world." He also called Spectre Divide the next big thing, before raging off after a match, quickly switching over to Deadlock. Just two weeks ago, he was reminding his audience that Overwatch is a much better game.
Oh, for sure, Overwatch is absolutely a much better game...People forget how insane that game was when it came out. That game was... It ran good, it looked good, frames were insane, anyone could play it, matchmaking was good. Bro, it took over the world. Don't ever disrespect the GOAT. Don't ever disrespect the GOAT."
Now, Shroud is apparently all in on Marvel Rivals. So is it just another step in the "Shroud hype cycle"? Possibly not.
Marvel Rivals tops Shroud's game distribution
Over the last month, Shroud has been religiously playing Marvel Rivals, logging in nearly 270 hours on stream. That number puts the game at #1 across the last 12 months, accounting for 10% of Shroud's total playtime. To put it into context, Spectre Divide, despite Shroud's role in the game's creation, only ever got 87 hours of stream time. And Deadlock, Shroud's previous obsession, only lasted about 167 hours and hasn't been on air since September.
Is creating an esports org viable for Shroud?
Many large streamers, such as DisguisedToast, MoistCr1TiKaL, and Ludwig, have entered the Esports sphere over recent years. While such investments bring a large number of eyeballs and support to the game, they come at a large financial cost. Following the merger between Moist Esports and Shopify Rebellion, MoistCr1TiKaL revealed that he lost a staggering $4.2 million across four years of running the organization.
Shroud may not be 100% serious about establishing an Esports org, but if he does go ahead with it, the streamer will likely be making large losses on the project. But, given Marvel Rivals' fledgling competitive circuit, Shroud's org ownership dream may never see the light of the day.
Will we see Shroud enter the Esports ownership world? Stay tuned to esports.gg for more esports news.
