Features
What's New in RIVALSFPS.GG 5.2.0
RIVALSFPS.GG 5.2.0 came out on October 11, 2026. It adds announcer sounds to the Sounds tab, has the Skin Manager recognize add-ons for other skin mods, makes the 3D skin preview match the hero screen, adds two new layers to Graphic Pack Settings and renames the Competitive preset to Max FPS. There is also an opt-in desktop shortcut that launches the game in one double-click.
The app checks for updates by itself and, by default, installs this one the next time it starts. If you chose Ask before updating in Settings, it shows Update available and Restart & Update installs it. The What's New bell in the titlebar lists the same changes, each with a button that opens the tab it is about.
Announcer sounds in the Sounds tab
The Sounds tab now has a fifth category, Announcer, with twelve slots for the spoken match calls: Double KO, Triple KO, Quadra KO, Penta KO, Hexa KO, Ace (team wipe), Unstoppable, Round won, Round lost, Victory, Defeat and Overtime. You fill them the same way as the hit and kill sounds, by dropping a file on a slot, using Browse, dropping a folder of files named after the slots, or picking from the Library.
Your announcer audio plays whichever voice language the game is set to. With the twelve new slots the tab has 29 in total, and one sound mod can hold any mix of them. The slots, the file formats and the build are covered in custom announcer sounds.
Skin add-ons, and skins that share a file or two
Some skin mods are made for another skin mod, like a tattoo set or a hair color for someone's skin. The Skin Manager now recognizes these add-ons, nests them under the skin they belong to and labels them Add-on. If the base skin loads first and covers one, its row reads Hidden and offers Load first, which puts a "!" in front of the add-on's folder name so it loads before its base. If the base is switched off, the row reads Base off and offers Turn on base.
Two related changes came with it. Skins that share a file or two no longer count as replacing each other: the app now measures what two mods share and only groups them as rivals when one would all but replace the other. And versions of one skin, mods that change exactly the same files, now share a card. Details are in Skin add-ons and Load first.
A 3D preview that matches the hero screen
The Skin Manager's 3D preview now shows a skin the way the hero screen does: the costume's hero-screen model, playing the hero's own idle animation, with its weapon attached. Recolors preview too, on the model they recolor. Skins whose textures are in a format the current game cannot read now show a red Broken chip, the same chip a mod missing its .pak file already wore. Hovering the chip says which of the two it is. How skins install and how the Skin Manager files each one under its hero is in Marvel Rivals skin mods.
Lights, Background and Max FPS (renamed from Competitive)
Graphic Pack Settings, at the top of the Graphics tab, has two new rows, and its Shadows option now covers prop shadows. Each change was tested on its own:
- Lights: Reduced is new. It switches off the lamps and accent lights placed in match maps and brightens ambient light to make up for it. About 7% more FPS in testing.
- Background: Hidden is new. It hides the skyline outside the playable area and changes nothing inside the map. About 2% more FPS in testing.
- Shadows: Reduced now removes the shadows props and scenery cast, on top of the shadows from lights. About 2% more FPS in testing.
The Competitive preset is now called Max FPS, and it turns all three on. It already set Shadows: Reduced, transparent foliage and hidden decals; Lights and Background are new to it. The rows were relabeled at the same time: Reduce Shadows is now Shadows, with Default and Reduced as its options, and every row's untouched option reads Default. The figures are separate results that depend on your PC and your settings, and what each layer costs in looks is covered in the guide to the Max FPS preset.
The Launch button while graphic packs build
While a graphic pack or layer is building, the Launch button on Home now reads Building Graphic Packs… with a progress fill that tracks the build, instead of looking like a disabled button. Clicking it brings the build's progress back up if you closed it, and Launch is available again when the build finishes.
The Graphics tab's build lock now covers the whole tab. While a build runs, every dropdown in the settings strip and the library's pack buttons are disabled, and hovering one reads "Disabled until the current build completes". If you already had Shadows set to Reduced, expect one build like this after updating, because that layer now includes prop shadows and is rebuilt once to match.
Quick-launch desktop shortcut
Settings has a new card in the Launch tab: Quick-launch desktop shortcut. It is off by default. Switched on, it adds a shortcut called Marvel Rivals (RIVALSFPS.GG) to your desktop. One double-click opens RIVALSFPS.GG and launches the game for you with your presets, graphic packs and launch options applied, the same as pressing Launch in the app. It is a separate shortcut from the one the installer makes for the app itself, which is left alone. Switching the card off removes it, and uninstalling the app removes it too.
That matters because the app's graphic packs and presets only apply to launches it starts. The shortcut is a way to start the game from your desktop and still get them. Skip Launcher and the other options a launch from the app applies are covered in Marvel Rivals launch options.
Where to go next
If you are new to the app, how to install Marvel Rivals mods covers the Mod Manager, the skin mods guide covers the Skin Manager, and graphic packs and texture packs covers the looks the Graphics tab starts from. On the performance side, Lower Render Resolution on any graphics card is the switch on the Quality tab that renders the game smaller and scales it back up.
The button on the download page fetches the current release from GitHub, and by default the app keeps itself up to date after that.
Common questions
How do I update RIVALSFPS.GG to 5.2.0?
The app checks for updates by itself, and by default it installs one the next time RIVALSFPS.GG starts. If you set Settings, App, How updates install to Ask before updating, it shows Update available instead, and Restart & Update installs it. Either way the titlebar then reads Up to date v5.2.0. A new install from the download page gets the current release.
What happened to the Competitive graphics preset?
It was renamed Max FPS in 5.2.0. It still makes foliage transparent, hides decals and sets Shadows to Reduced, which now removes prop shadows too. It also sets the new Lights row to Reduced and the new Background row to Hidden.
Is the quick-launch desktop shortcut on by default?
No. It is off until you switch it on under Settings, in the Launch tab. Switching it off removes the shortcut again.
Why does my Launch button say Building Graphic Packs?
A graphic pack or graphics layer is being built on your PC. The button shows the build's progress, clicking it brings the progress back up, and Launch is available again when the build finishes. After updating to 5.2.0 this can happen once by itself if you already had Shadows set to Reduced.
