Marvel Teams Up with Square Enix to announce a multi-year, multi-game partnership, known as The Avengers project.
These games will be based on Marvel heroes who are more than likely members of the Avengers. The Avengers project is being developed by Crystal Dynamics, the award-winning developers of the Tomb Raider series, in collaboration with the renowned developers of Deus Ex, Eidos-Montreal. The Avengers project is being designed for gamers around the world, with the same studios of two globally renown franchises, and will be packed with all the characters, environments, and iconic moments that Marvel fans can handle. The project will also feature a completely original story, and will likely be interwoven and connected among all the games. The downside, we probably won’t hear much else until 2018.
Here are quotes from the Square Enix’s official press release:
“By partnering with Crystal Dynamics and Eidos-Montréal, we are now working with two of the industry’s most talented and respected game development studios to bring Marvel stories to life in ways our fans have never experienced,“ said Jay Ong, Senior Vice President, Games & Innovation, Marvel Entertainment. “The Avengers project is a perfect example of how Marvel is making games a key part of the landscape for Marvel storytelling, alongside comics, television and film. We can only do this by matching our greatest Super Heroes with the world’s top developers, such as the creative minds at Square Enix.”
“Marvel’s diverse, innovative universe has created millions of longtime fans, including all of us,” said Phil Rogers, CEO, Square Enix Americas and Europe. “It’s exciting to bring together Square Enix’s award-winning development studios with Marvel’s extraordinary storytellers to establish a new entertainment powerhouse. This collaboration of passion and talent will craft epic, imaginative experiences allowing gamers to live out their Super Hero dreams like never before.”
Marvel is continuing its global influence in every medium and looks to be making a strong and decisive step into the world of gaming. They will have Spider-Man on the PS4 sometime this year, which aims to be Marvel’s own Arkham series, and now they look to recapture the lightning of the MCU in what I am now calling the soon to be created Marvel Gaming Universe or the MGU.
Marvel has had a kind of hit or miss with gaming. Personally, I believe they have done well overall. The Avengers arcade game was just as good as the Ninja Turtles one, at least until Turtles in Time came out. I liked all of the ones on Super Nintendo. Spider-Man Web of Shadows, in all honesty, should be considered in the tier just below the Arkham Series and Shattered Dimensions and Edge of Time were decent. The X-Men Legends – Marvel Ultimate Alliance games are the best arcade style RPG games to date. But those were all separate and unrelated takes. There was no unified vision, just attempts to make a game here and there. Now, it’s focused.
What is really interesting, is that it looks like the MGU it will begin after the Avengers have failed. The characters will be divided and spread out and need to #Reassemble. That means we don’t have to worry much about origin stories. We’ll get our heroes experienced, primed, and ready. I’m personally hoping for Mass Effect level influence of one game to the next. If anyone can make amazing individual games, that lead to one giant colossal game, there is no other company I would more confidently bet on than Marvel. But what do you think? Share your thoughts, excitement, and concerns in the comments below.
