Marvel Contest of Champions

A gameplay screenshot shows Spider-Man fighting Captain America at Stark Tower.

Players assume the role of a Summoner, tasked by The Collector to build a team of Marvel heroes and villains and pit them against one another in combat. Gameplay is similar to that of Injustice: Gods Among Us and Mortal Kombat X, where the game's fighting arena is rendered in 3D with a 2D plane for the superheroes' movements and actions. New players begin with access to two 1-star characters, and can work to access additional characters including Captain America, Thor, Doctor Doom, She-Hulk, Dormammu, Namor, Domino, Man-Thing, and Groot. Each of the 176 playable characters is upgradable, featuring their own classes, movements, traits, abilities, and special moves, although many share animations.

Gameplay features an energy system that limits the number of quest-based battles in which players can compete. Energy recharges automatically at a set rate over time or players can refill their energy manually. The energy limit is increased when players increase their level. Game items (such as crystals) that impact play may be found in chests as players win battles. In addition to quests, users can battle opponents in the game's "Versus" mode, pitting their champions against those of another player in one-on-one matches or three-on-three limited-time arenas. However, the opponents are A.I.-controlled so it is not an actual real-time player battle. Marvel Contest of Champions requires a persistent Internet connection for both single and multiplayer modes.[7]

Controls are designed for touch, rather than adapting buttons or virtual joysticks. Gameplay includes light, medium, and heavy attack options, as well as block and dodge. The character can shuffle back or sprint forward, and each hero has three of their own special attacks (unlocked with ranks and stars), as well as unique abilities and a signature ability. Synergy Bonuses reward the player for combining characters who have a unique relationship. For example, putting Star-Lord in the same team with Rocket Raccoon or Groot rewards every team member with a +70% increase of Armor ratings. As stated by Cuz Parry from Kabam: "There is also a combo system that rewards players for mixing up their moves and performing well-timed blocks. The higher the combo, the faster your special attacks regenerate".[3] As characters take and deal damage, a power meter fills which indicates the potential for unique moves. When the player levels-up their characters, more-powerful special attacks are possible but can be used less frequently due to their higher power cost.[8]

Characters can be leveled up by using ISO-8 and Gold and ranked up with Catalysts, which are all gained when fighting in Story Quests and special events. Class-specific ISO-8 and Catalysts provide heroes of the specified class a bonus. Completing quests provides XP (experience points) and unlocks the ability to add more heroes to the player's questing team, to a maximum of five heroes. Higher levels also allow players to save more ISO-8, catalysts and objects.[9] In addition to taking part in a global chat feature, players can also join alliances. Alliances allow chat amongst other members and provide the opportunity to work together to earn alliance points, used to earn its own type of crystal.

Marvel Contest of Champions features many playable heroes and villains, referred to in the game as "champions". Playable fighters can come in one of six tiers, signified by 1 through 6 stars. Not all characters are available in every tier, and while most can be obtained through "basic" crystals and limited time arenas that will offer two different champions per round, others can only be obtained via specific crystals, arenas (if they are a character introduced in that month) or special promotions.

Each playable character is assigned to one of six classes: Cosmic, Tech, Mutant, Skill, Science, and Mystic. In some quests, using the character of a particular class will get the player through "gates" that block other paths. There are also relationships between the classes, and each has an advantage over another (e.g., Cosmic has an advantage over Tech, Tech over Mutant, Mutant over Skill, etc.). Characters with a class advantage over their opponent gain a class bonus, boosting their base attack by a certain percentage during the fight. There is also a Combined class that has an advantage over every other class, though only non-playable characters have this class. Three-star heroes, four-star heroes and above gain a higher percentage of damage compared to two-star heroes.

Some characters, such as Dark Phoenix, Collector, Grandmaster and Maestro, are non-playable, several of which were only available for a limited time in Event Quests, or serve as bosses in the main story mode. Ten original playable champions were created for the game: Guillotine, Civil Warrior, King Groot, Morningstar, Symbiote Supreme, Sorcerer Supreme, Venom the Duck, Ægon, Guillotine 2099 and Storm (Pyramid X). Playable characters:

Kabam creative director Cuz Parry describes the game as a "one vs. one, arcade-style fighting game with multiplayer as well as role-playing game elements with a quest/story mode where you're pitted against a wide range of heroes and villains from the Marvel Universe".

Marvel Contest of Champions has received a generally positive response. Upon release in December 2014, the game was named Editors' Choice on the App Store. As of 2015, it had more than 40 million downloads.[11] The 19.0 update has caused issues with iOS devices overheating, but it was later fixed.

The game was also nominated for "Action Game" at the 2019 Webby Awards.[17]