The Marvel's Avengers team is ending all support for the game on September 30. There won't be any additional character DLC, story missions, or updates; its life as a game as a service (GaaS) is nearly over. If you have ever been interested to see what the fuss has been about, Marvel's Avengers is a part of one last fire sale where you can pick it up for only a handful of dollars.

Marvel's Avengers: The Definitive Edition is going for the crazy low cost of $3.99 USD in multiple places. You can pick it up for that price on the PlayStation Store, Steam, and Green Man Gaming. That's 90% off for those who just love looking at percentages in sales. The Definitive Edition comes with mo?re than 400 outfits for the heroes, along with all the DLC missions and playable characters. B??ut keep in mind that if you want the Spider-Man DLC, you need to pick up the PlayStation version.

Why is there a fire sale for Marvel's Avengers before "the end?"

Marvel's Avengers, sadly, didn't do so hot after it launched roughly three years ago. Players were unimpressed by its grindy nature, though it did earn some praise for its combat. The game was mired in "pay-to-win" controversy, as it introduced ways to buy XP boosts in lieu of simply playing the game. Publisher Square Enix was also frustrated over the game's "lower than expected" sales, ultimately leading it to sell the developer, Crystal Dynamics, to Embracer Group in 2022.

On September 30, the Marvel's Avengers owners will officially "sunset" the game. You won't be able to purchase the game or its DLC, nor will you b??e able to buy credits. Own??ers of the game can still play its single- and multiplayer modes, and limited-time events are still planned.

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Hey you can actually use all the content now

Marvel's Avengers came, went; and then somehow went again shortly after every "major" periodic content patch. No matter how much content the team added it just was never enough: namely because there was no real connection to the story, many of those content additions were reskins, and the game never truly shed its live service component. Also, dangling Spider-Man over people's heads (as an exclusive no less!??) probably wasn't the best idea from whoever was responsible (from the top to the bottom).

The newest (and final) game-is-dead patch changes all that. And of course, while it's too late for Avengers, we can still check out its current state for fun and use it as a case study of what not to do.

[caption id="attachment_372100" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Just look at how live servicey this game was/is - look at it!

As a recap, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix announced that after two and a half years, Marvel's Avengers live service experience was effectivel?y dead (also known as "maintenance mode'), but would shamble on until September. That promised final patch arrived this past weekend and actually unlocked all the game's content (read: premium stuff included) for free. That includes the entire marketplace, challenge cards, and shipment cosmetics. All free. After re-installing the game on PS5 at a whopping 115.8 GB ask (I nearly didn't do it!) the first thing I did was look at how many skins the game had: and man, I was not?? prepared.

Nearly every single character had truckloads of premium skins that are now unlocked that you can just use. On the flip side, all of those skins are unlocked to use, all of the streamlined grind-curbing patches are in, and there's some more content to peruse through. If you're a lapsed player who dug the core story but ditched because of the microtransactions: you? can safely come back in now and clean up the past few years of the ga??me in a weekend.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfIj2X69qL4

I was able to change up some of the default Crystal Dynamics character designs I didn't dig with new cosmetics, then jump into some online bouts wi??th other players who were doing the same. It's amazing to see how much stuff was actually gated behind paywalls, especially given the penchant for comic fans to express themselves with different eras of each hero that they personally identify with the most. It's freeing to explore all this stuff with more quality of life upgrades and matchmaking features than ever before.

But hey, at least that batch of Verizon Avengers FIOS skins got someone some quick cash.

[caption id="attachment_372088" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via WB[/caption]

Will Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League suffer the same slow live service bleed out fate?

As you may know the reception to the recent Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League actual gameplay trailer was absolutely horrendous. DC and Marvel fans alike are wondering how much game there will act??ually be: compared to the amount of leveling and grinding that seem?? to be the core focus of the game.

That reception ended up resulting in a full-on delay for the game, which many pundits point out will likely not involve a full-on rework given how long that process would actually take under? the hood. Until then a??ll we can do is wait and wonder how badly another studio might muck up yet another guaranteed IP-grab because of the live-service chase.

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I'll miss you, Ms. Marvel

Marvel's Avengers is a game that should have run for a decade. A games-as-a-service title attached to arguably the biggest IP in the world, it had to potential to be a gargantuan hit. I remember seeing the Avengers Academy booth at E3 and how Square Enix went all out trying to get people excited about this game. And yet, for a myriad of reasons, Marvel's Avengers didn't resonate with players. This is why today, a little more than two-and-a-half years after it first launched, the game is getting its final conten?t update.

As explained in January, Update 2.8 will be the last content patch for Marvel's Avengers before official support ends later this year. The patch unlocks the marketplace, adding nearly all MCU and non-MCU-inspired outfits, nameplates, takedowns, and more to every player's Hero Card. Costumes that are earned through gameplay or purchased at the Cosmetic Vendor will still need to be earned and purchased. Anyone who has earned at least one trophy or achievement before April 1 will be gifted the Iron Man Variable Threat Response Battle Suit, which turns Tony Stark into a kick-ass War Machine. The developers have also announced all players will receive thi??s new Black Panther skin.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7SNsLFui4M

If you have any unspent credits, those will be converted to in-game resources once you update the game. Additionally, Hero's Catalysts and Fragment Extractors have been removed from Marvel's Avengers and replace?d with a permanent 1.5x multiplier on F??ragments and XP.

That about covers the biggest details of the Update 2.8 patch, but there are a lot of small fixes you can read about on the official patch notes. If you're a fan of the game, I'd suggest checking out that link as there is a lovely thank-you message from ??Sandra Saad, the voice of Ms. M??arvel.

If you want to give the game a go now that all the microtransactions have been removed, Marvel's Avengers is available on Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Extra. As a reminder, official support for Marvel's Avengers will end on September 30, 2023. The game will still be playable after that date has passed, bu?t play??ers should not expect any more updates or patches beyond that date.

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Battle passing on to the other side

Online game closures are nothing new to the industry. New multiplayer and purely online games come and go with the seasons. But we're a month into 2023, and have seen a heavy smattering of live-service games announcing their?? imminent closure.

Live-service, or "games-as-a-service" games, constantly update. They find life in the churn, and for some, it's an extremely lucrative prospect. Look no further than Fortnite, Call of Duty Warzone, or Genshin Impact for examples. Heck, even MMOs �which existed a bit prior to the prominence of live-service titles �could fall under this umbrella. Games like Destiny 2 and Final Fantasy XIV are, and have been, going strong.

Still, this past week, we've seen a number of newer games announce their imminent closure. Fellow media outlet Gematsu put together a handy list over on Twitter, but here are just some of the ones we cov??ered just this week:

• Apex Legends Mobile
• Battlefield Mobile
• Rumbleverse
• CrossfireX
• Knockout City

And this list doesn't even include Crimesight or Echo VR. And if we expand this out further, many other live service games have been shutting down since the start of this year, with Marvel's Avengers planning to close by the end.

Some, at least, get a neater conclusion. Turtle Rock Studios has confirmed it's not working on any more Back 4 Blood content as it moves onto its next game, but the servers will stay up for the foreseeable future. Others, like Rumbleverse, have a limited window of time for its players and any lapsed fans to hop back on ?and?? play.

It's disheartening, to say the least. For one, I'd like to think all these games had developers working on them who cared about their project. Look no further than the letter that Iron Galaxy developers wrote for the Rumbleverse community, which has been stuck in the back of my mind through a?ll these closure??s:

"When you work on a video game, you imagine the community that will show up? to play it someday. For years, we dreamed about a lively city filled with people fighting to become a champion. We strived to create a vibrant place that celebrated the competitive spirit. Our goal was to bring joy back to online multiplayer gaming."

"The people who gave Rumbleverse a chance and took it on as a new hobby have validated every day that we put into bringing our ideas to life. We have loved watching you play. We have?? learned from your stories and your insights. We even passed around the art you’ve create?d to immortalize your best moments in the streets."

That's the dream, right? I'd like to think that's the hope of every social multiplayer game, at least before a Multiverse-chasing CEO gets their hands on i?t. The vision of just having some players hop in, meet each other, socialize, and enjoy the systems of play you've created in an interactive world is incredible.

But live-service is also the lifeblood for large publishers. A constant stream of revenue from one, especially one that's popular enough and lucrative enough, can keep companies thriving. Take Ubisoft, for example: the massive publisher recently cancelled three unannounced projects, on top of four previously announced cancellations from the year prior. Speaking on the matter, CEO Yves Guillemot cited a shift in the industry:

"We are clearly disappointed by our recent performance. We are facing contrasted market dynamics as t??he industry continues to shift towards mega-brands and everlasting live games, in the context of worsening economic condit??ions affecting consumer spending."

Guillemot goes on to note the back catalogue of Ubisoft and "robust activity" around Rainbow Six Siege. These can't jus?t be good games, though They have to perform, become long-lasting, and provide offerings across multiple platforms and business models.

"We expect our strategy to build long-??la??sting live games and transform our biggest brands into truly global phenomenon with multiple offerings across platforms and business models, to ultimately generate significant value creation, with strong topline and operating income growth over the coming years."

So, where does that leave a live-service game that doesn't become the biggest brand? Babylon's Fall felt like a surprise when it closed, with such a quick turn from launch to closure. That narrow window isn't quite the outlier it? was, though.

I've seen d?ozens of games come and go, but it does feel like live-service games are under more pressure than ever to sink or swim. It's disheartening to see, as someone that loves these surprises as social spaces to connect with friends and excuses for everyone to hop? on a Discord call on a Thursday night.

Not everything needs to be a "forever" game, but I also hope some can have opportunities to float or even tread water �like Back 4 Blood has �for the communities that latch onto them. A game disappear?ing into the ether of the Internet doesn't inspire confidence in our ability to preserve and commemorate the medium.

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March 2023 will see the last bit of new content for the heroes

The Avengers team bringing its support of Marvel's Avengers to a close. The company confirms today that no new content or features will arrive after its March update, and all official support for Marvel's Avengers will end on September 30, 2023.

In a post on the official Marvel's Avengers site, the development team confirms that Update 2.8 on March 31, 2023 will mark the end of content and features rolling out. Update 2.7, which recently added the Winter Soldier and the Cloning Lab Omega-Level Threat, is also confirmed as the final new content for Marvel's Avengers. The March Update 2.8 will contain all final balance updates for the gam?e.

In an FAQ about the decision, the Avengers team says: "The decision was m??ade in ??conjunction with our partners that now was the right time to make this change."

On September 30, 2023, all official support for Avengers will end. While both single-player and multi-player will still be available, most other facets of the game will shut down. This includes the marketplace for cosmetics, as after Update 2.8 is live, Credits will no longer be purchasable. All remaining credits will be converted into in-game resources. The Avengers team provided a tab?le to explain ho??w the Credits conversion will be doled out:

[caption id="attachment_359098" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Marvel's Avengers team[/caption]

Once more unto the breach

Starting March 31, 2023, all of the game's Marketplace, Challenge Card, and Shipment cosmetics will be made available to all players, for free. The development team says gifting the full library of cosmetic content is a way to thank the community, by letting everyone experience all the content. The main exception? i??s that Spider-Man will, in fact, remain exclusive to PlayStation.

Marvel's Avengers will still be available to purchase digitally between now and September 30, 2023, and is also available in retail for?m. No new digital purchases will be allowed after September 30, though. And while servers will stay up and available for multiplayer after official support ends, forever isn't exactly guaranteed.

"The changes we are making to how the game functions will ensure as long a life as possible," reads today's statement. "However, after Sep??tember 30, 2023 we can’t guarantee that we will be able to address issues that occur due to unforeseen circumstances."

Crystal Dynamics, the team behind Marvel's Avengers, was recently sold by Square Enix to Embracer Group. And while its history has been rocky, it's always a little sad to see an online game disappear into the ether like this. At least fans can ?have one last hurrah between now an??d September.

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Bucky enters the fray

A new hero joins the lineup of Marvel's Avengers at the end of the month. Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, will arrive in Marvel's Avengers on November 29.

The 2.7 update will add the once-frozen warrior to Avengers as a playable hero, alongside the Cloning Lab Omega-Level Threat. Bucky ?will also have his own chain of missions, which will reward an iconic outfit once completed.

The Winter Soldier will be voiced by Scott Porter, who also lent his voice to Bucky in Lego Marvel's Avengers. As for his p?laystyle, he's apparently an "assault-focused hero" who loves to do damage.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDBojdBAjXU

The Omega-Level Threat of the Cloning Lab carries on the MODOK storyline. It's an endgame encounter mean?t for a squad of players to tackle, and will require Power Level 175 to enter.

Avengers, assembling

Bucky is the latest hero to join Marvel's Avengers, since Jane Foster's Thor took the field earlier this year. That brings the total hero co?unt up to 12, if counting?? the PlayStation-exclusive Spider-Man.

It's also been a strange year for Crystal Dynamics, the team behind Marvel's Avengers. The studio was recently bought by Embracer Group, alongside Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal. The latter would soon be renamed to Onoma before getting shut down.

Meanwhile, Marvel's Avengers is still carrying on. The team says that updates past 2.7 will keep on revising and tuning heroes, as they've been doing with past patches. And Crystal Dynamics is also working on the next installment in the Tomb Raider franchise, too.

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Here's what PlayStation Plus' higher tiers get this month

We're just about halfway through July, and Sony is locking in the Premium and Extra catalog for this month's PlayStation Plus offerings. Futuristic cat-platformer Stray and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade headline a pr??etty solid month for the upper tiers.

In case you missed it, PlayStation Plus stratified out into three different tiers last month. While the Essential tier retains access to the same Plus users have had for a while, Extra? and Premium get some extra goodies; namely, some PS4 and PS5 games for Extra, and a retro catalog for Premium members.

A new PlayStation blog today r??uns down the list o??f what's coming for Extra and Premium-tier members in July's Plus lineup.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgPRPi--F5E

Stray was already confirmed for the PlayStation Plus Extra tier during the June State of Play. S?o good news: if you have the Extra tier, those feline escapades will be ready for you day-one.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is the second headliner. This is the PlayStation 5 version of the Remake, with added content, improved visuals, and DualSense controller integrations. But most importantly, Fort Condor. So much Fort Condor. PlayStation 4 owners will get Final Fantasy VII Remake available as part of this month's Game Catalog.

Marvel's Avengers also joins the lineup, as it just recently got Jane Foster and will also, apparently, be looking to add She-Hulk at some point. Plus, there's a bevy of Assassin's Creed games coming to the service, as Ubisoft says it plans to keep on expanding the Ubisoft category on PlayStatio??n Plus. And for Premium members, there are a couple PSP games joining the classic catalog. Here's the f?ull lineup.

PlayStation Plus Extra games for July

• Stray | PS4, PS5
• Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade | PS5
• Final Fantasy VII Remake | PS4
• Marvel's Avengers | PS4, PS5
• Assassin’s Creed Unity | PS4
• Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag | PS4
• Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered | PS4
• Assassin’s Creed Freedom Cry | PS4
• Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection | PS4
• Saints Row IV: Re-Elected | PS4
• Saints Row Gat out of Hell | PS4
• Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition | PS5
• Ice Age: Scrat’s Nutty Adventure | PS4
• Jumanji The Video Game | PS4
• Paw Patrol on a Roll! | PS4
• ReadySet Heroes | PS4

PlayStation Plus Premium games for July

• No Heroes Allowed! | PSP
• LocoRoco Midnight Carnival | PSP

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"We don't announce things"

It sure looks like we got a She-Hulk Avengers game roster additio?n co?nfirmation �but not in a traditional sense!

Just the other day on the official Xbox Twitch channel, streamer Frank "Techniq" Ellerbe co-hosted a playthrough with Brian Waggoner: lead designer at Crystal Dynamics and Marvel's Avengers developer. For nearly a full hour the duo hyped up the recent addition of Jane Foster, as they discussed the game as a whole. But during some downtime between mission launches, Techniq gave us a bit?? of extra info: seemingly going off-script to announce that She-Hulk would ar??rive at some point.

At the roughly 50-minute mark of the stream, he says: "I th??ink it's public now, [she's] announced. So my acting coach guys...I'm in the world of acting...my acting is actually the voice of She-Hulk, and I won't say her name, because I don't know if that was public knowledge yet...she was announced."

You can immediately see Waggoner's eyes light up as he looks off-screen, and once Techniq is done, he replies "nope,? we've never announced She-Hulk, we don't announce things...you know." I'm amazed at how quickly both of them recover, and Waggoner ends the conversation with "when it's time to talk about who's next, we'll talk about who's next."

Note that this leak is a fairly significant moment for the game, as there is seemingly room for another character in the mix. She-Hulk was originally soft/vaguely leaked back in Dec?emb??er [hence Tec?hniq's possible confusion] when the voice actress for the character retweeted a fan, but now it's kinda hard confirmed. Waggoner confirms that whatever the next roster addition is, it's something new (potentially like Black Panther), and not a redux of a character (like She-Hulk would potentially be a counterpart to Hulk). If that was the case, we could be getting at least two more characters eventually, and the game will live on far beyond what most predicted around launch.

The stream is currently archived here for now if you want to ??see the?? whole context, but Twitter user Miller preserved it below:

//twitter.com/mmmmmmmmiller/?status/15444367?56321271808

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Jane Foster takes to the fray tomorrow

The Mighty Thor, the latest hero to join the battle in Marvel's Avengers, arrives tomorrow. Before her launch, Crystal Dynamics has published a gameplay deep dive exploring just how this Mighty Thor is familiar and not-so-familiar for Marvel's Avengers players.

The War Table deep dive posted this morning showcases Jane Foster's specific set of moves. In the Marvel's Avengers continuum, Foster is brought over from ano?ther timeline, one where Thor Odinson gave up the hammer.

With Foster as the ne??w wielder of Mjolnir, her moves may look a little familiar. But there are some differences that make the Mighty?? Thor a bit different.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxjz6fFQSJc

The video highlights Jane's combo abilities, which can create sho?ckwaves as she hits or adds a catch-and-release mechanic to Mjolnir. Her big move looses Mjolnir on enemies, letting it fly around and pummel foes as she summons another ?weapon, Undrjarn. Twice the bludgeoning seems like bad news for the bad guys.

Mightiest heroes

While the side-by-side comparisons early on don't help Jane feel all too different from Tho??r, the later abilities do seem to offer a different and distinct playstyle. The visual design of the Mighty Thor is fantastic too; Foster will get her ow?n cosmetics, and they really lean into some fantastic armor and garb.

In today's accompanying blog, Crystal Dynamics also confirms it's working on more content for Marvel's Avengers. Two new challenges ??will continue to push the ?narrative efforts forward, with the first being a villain-focused Warzone.

It's a good reaffirmation of what's in store for Marvel's Avengers for anyone wondering what would happen to the project since Square Enix struck the deal with Embracer. Seems like support is still ongoing, at least for the near future. And in the even-nearer future, the Mighty Thor hits Marvel's Avengers tomorrow, June 28.

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Stop, hammer time

Square Enix is laying out the road ahead for Marvel's Avengers. And it looks like that future lines up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Marvel's Avengers looks to add Jane Foster to the lineup.

In today's April dev update, the team is looking ahead to Update 2.4. It's currently set for a May release, and will continue to focus on system improvements. Even further out is Update 2.5, which doesn't have any timing window just yet. But the?? update will include a new playable hero in Jane Foster, t?he Mighty Thor.

The Avengers team says Foster will have some similarities to Thor Odinson, given they're both wielders of Mjolnir. She will also have elements that are "distinctly Jane." ?More info on that is coming in the future.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgB1wUcmbbw

Peace, love, and thunder

Foster's inclusion in the Square Enix live-service Avengers lines up neatly with news of her appearing in the MCU. The recent trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder, the upcoming Thor movie, ends ??with the reveal of Foster's Thor.

For more on how exactly Jane Foster became Thor, and what history it has in the comics, Polygon has an excellent write-up. It's a surprisingly fun inclusion though, and could let the Avengers team explore the ??complex backstory of how the Thor mantle has moved around over th??e years.

As for Marvel's Avengers, maybe this helps provide more shocks to its system. The live-service game has trucked on through a bad initial reception. Updates have still been rolling out, and seem intent to keep on rolling out. It's gradually made good on delivering characters like Spider-Man, as well as a full content pack in the War for Wakanda expansion.

Meanwhile, even more Marvel games are spinning up. Skydance New Media, helmed by Amy Hennig, is working on a new narrative-driven game in the Marvel universe, and Marvel's Midnight Suns is still due sometime later this year.

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For a lot of people, it is

The Marvel's Avengers war table is being reworked, but is it enough to get a lot of lapsed players to dive? back into the game? Probably not.

The gist is that come March 24, the war table (which is how you get missions, and confusingly, the name for the publisher's Nintendo Direct-like video updates) will be revamped. The idea is to "streamline missions and improve the overall user experience." This is a two-pronged operation, as the othe??r bit involves fixing ?the NPE (new player experience), and Nick Fury will come back to guide people (you can find the core details for the NPE rework below).

"Missions will no longer change every 15 minutes (good start!)," and p??ower [gear] levels for regions are more clear, with minimum and maximum values more obviously communicated. You also don't need? to wander over to NPCs to have some stuff unlock on the table, which includes vaults.

Reading through these changes, I found myself nodding, then going "wait, this is all stuff that should have been in at the start." Live service games are fantastic at obfuscating open info to confuse players, so the game feels artificially elongated and grindier. A lot of developers are mas?ters at deliberately doing this.

To see a studio change ?this system so late in the game: it's interesting, to say the least. And probably speaks to the current monetary state of the game.

Marvel's Avengers war table Quest/Mission Chain Onboarding Rework:

Currently, there are a series of quests or mission chains that guide players to multiple mission types as a way of teaching new players how the Avengers Initiative works. Feedback has made it clear this can be confusing since there is minimal direction. The following changes will be made in Patch 2.3 to offer clarity and to properly explain the systems, missions, and how to begin your journey in the Avengers Initia??tive as you progress rather than one after another.

• Reigning Supreme has been removed
• Vault Onboarding has been removed
• Hive Mind has been removed
• The previous version of Cloning Around has been removed
• Iconic Avengers unlocks when reaching power level 10
• SHIELD Protocols unlocks when reaching power level 20
• Beating the Odds unlocks when reaching power level 20
• Inhuman Sanctuary unlocks when reaching power level 30
• Last Avenger Standing unlocks when reaching power level 130
• Mega Hive unlocks when reaching power level 130
• Omega-Level Threat: Family Reunion unlocks when reaching power level 140
• Discordant Sound Raid unlocks at power level 150
• Elite Discordant Sound Raid unlocks at power level 160

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The PlayStation-exclusive hero finally makes his debut this month

A friendly neighborhood superhero will make his way into Crystal Dynamics' superhero brawler at the end of November. Spider-Man will finally arrive in Marvel's Avengers for PlayStation owners on Nov. 30, 2021.

Announced in the weekly War Table blog, Nov. 30 will bring a bunch of updates to Marvel's Avengers alongside Spider-Man. The Klaw raid will arrive, set after the War for Wakanda expansion and tasking players with taking down the?? big bad?die for some high-end gear.

Spider-Man's arrival will also come with the Spider-Man: With Great Power Hero Event. Here, you'll get to play through Spider-Man's story, as he teams up with Ms. Marvel and Black Widow to fight AIM. It seems like the crux of the Spider-Man narrative in Marvel's Avengers will be about Peter learning to work with a team, rather t?han fighting solo.

Some improved systems will also arrive in ?this update, including gear recycling, a Power Level increase to 175, and Per-Hero Weekly Objectives.

Crystal Dynamics also ?addresses earning cosmetics, rather than just buying them. Shipments arrive as a 500 Unit-cost box which pulls from a collection of possible items. You will be able to see what's in a Shipment before getting it, and there's a small chance a Shipment might hold a premium Outfit you can't get anywhere else. You'll automatically get that after picking up 100 Shipments though, so you won't have to rely on dice rolls forever. More is coming about this new system in the coming weeks.

Marvel's Avengers has been in hot waters lately over its controversial paid XP consumables, which Crystal Dynamics has since removed. There were also some tough words about the game's progress in the recent Square Enix financial earnings.

What 2022 will look like for Marvel's Avengers remains to be seen, but Spider-Man arriving in Marvel's Avengers has been a long-awaited addition for the game. Maybe it can right the ship a bit as it sails into a ne??w year.

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Both purchasable Hero's Catalysts and Fragment Extractors will leave the shop today

Crystal Dynamics has announced it will be removing its paid consumables from the Marvel's Avengers Marketplace. The two items will still be earnable rewards, but the option to purchase them ?will leave the store today.

The Hero's Catalysts and Fragment Extractors consumables were recently added to the Marvel's Avengers Marketplace. The move elicited almost immediate negative reactions from its player base, criticiz??ing ??the addition of paid XP boosts.

"We apologize for not responding sooner to your concerns about the addition of paid consumables in the Marketplace," read today's statement. "We introd??uced them as an option for an evolving player base, and did not see them as pay-to-win since they don't offer power directly."

//twitter.com/PlayAvengers/statu??s/1455580861718405124

By end of day, the consumables will be removed from the store, though they'll still be useable ?for anyone who has already purchased them.

"We?? hope that this can be the first step in rebuilding your confid?ence in us as a team," said the statement.

Marvel's Avengers has had a rocky year. After launching in 2020, the superhero game endured a rocky launch. The War for Wakanda expansion did go live earlier this year, and the games-as-service game just hit Xbox Game Pass.

But even with a roadmap laid out for the rest of 2021, a microtransaction controversy might have caused some more troubles for Marvel's Avengers. As a new year approaches, it seems like the co-op superhero brawler will have a little extra work ahead to keep gaining groun??d.

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I got that 1992 reference

Ah, Marvel's Avengers. It's the game that won't quit! You have the admire that level of moxie, but with Spider-Man still not out, they have to at least finish what they started since they have the license anyway. It's a shame that the forced live-service elements are getting in the way constantly, but at ??least the team gets to have fun every so often. Take this Captain America Wolfsuit skin that just came out.

Amazing, right? The outfit sees Cap donning the "Ma??n and Wolf" arc comic series look from 1992. Seeing how silly this is really shows how much promise this game could have had from the start: with challenge-linked unlockables of old, the ones you told your friends about on the playground. "You know?? if you beat this superboss you get this Captain America Wolfsuit, right?" "No way!"

That's how Marvel's Avengers could have played out. Instead, this wolf outfit is actually a marketplace skin, and very few things like it are actually un??lockable. You pay for the game, then are asked to pay to get ahead, then pay for more. The new characters/expansions have been nice (and the concept art for the Klaw raid looks great), but they don't make up for everything.

It's unfortunate that this all happened, including the Verizon tie-in skins (which epitomizes where gaming as a whole is at in 2020 and beyond). I can see a world where Marvel's Avengers was a true cele??bration of one of Marvel's most iconic stables, but you only get one first impression.

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Comic adventure u-turns on "Pay-to-Win" mechanics

Thoroughly unsurprising, as inevitable as Thanos, paid XP boosts have been added to Square Enix's RPG Marvel's Avengers. Fans of the ?game have taken to social media to express their disappointment at the new update.

Players can now purchase "Consumables" from Marvel's Avengers' in-game store, allowing characters to expedite their individual level growth in exchange for real-world money. While the addition of these boosts comes as no shock, (given that Marvel's Avengers has been a cash register since before its launch), players are particularly chagrinned as it was previously stated that paid boosts would not feature in the game.

The Marvel's Avengers Reddit f??????????????????????????eatures comments from p??layers criticizing the move.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4eLICd73gw

The paid XP boosts join a laundry list of disastrous marketing ideas that surround what should have easily been one of the most promising IPs of 2020. Even before launch, the ire of Marvel and gaming fans was raised with an abundance of piecemeal deals surrounding the title, including platform exclusive characters, a slew of microtransactions, and gimmicky marketing crossovers that tied in-game content to internet prov?iders and even chewing gum brands.

For the most part, the audience voted with its wallet, with Square Enix noting that launch sales for Marvel's Avengers were far lower than expected. The game's creative director, Shawn Escayg, left Crystal Dynamics in April to return to their old stomping ground of Naughty Dog, and the epic comic-book adventure has continued to limp on throughout 2021, with one of its biggest draws, the PlayStation-exclusive Spider-Man, still unreleased one year on from his controversial reveal.

Marvel's Aveng?ers called out by players over "Pay to Win" update [ComicBook.com]

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Both the base content and the expansion assemble on Game Pass

If you've been holding out on the persistent superhero game Marvel's Avengers, there's a good chance to jump in coming soon. Xbox and Crystal Dynamics announced today that Marvel's Avengers is coming to Xbox Game Pass? on Sept. 30, just a couple days from now??.

Marvel's Avengers will be coming to Xbox Game Pass for PC, console, and cloud gaming. It will also include just about every piece of content that's been released, from the base campaign up through the recent War for Wakanda expansion pack. The only exception being the eight cosmetics in the Endgame Edition DLC, which is on the Xbox Marketplace.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObIWfAkTSgo

There are still some events going as the month of September winds down too, including a Quad XP event running from Sept. 30 through Oct. 4. And updates have been bringing some new heroes, as well as new missions to complete, into the game and are expected to roll out throughout the year.

So while Game Pass players will still seemingly be out of luck when it comes to a friendly neighborhood addition to the game, it seems like a good time for Xbox owners to give Marvel's Avengers a shot if they haven't yet. It's been on my long list of service games to check out for a while, an??d now that heroes like Black Panther are joining the roster, it might be the right time.

Marvel in general has a lot of games in the pipeline now, too. Guardians of the Galaxy is set to debut in October, Midnight Suns is set for 2022, and Insomniac is working on both a Spidey sequel and a new Wolverine ga??me. ?Seems like a Marvel game in most major genres is hitting over the next few years.

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Your friendly neighborhood web-slinger makes his way into the game

Crystal Dynamics has laid out the road ahead for the rest of the year in Marvel's Avengers content, and some big additions are on it. Both Marvel's Avengers first ?raid and the introduction of a certain web-slinging Spider-Man to PlayStation players.

In a new State of the Game update, the studio discusses its roadmap for 2021, including content and cosmetics that are still on the way. Spider-Man is expected to arrive sometime this fall or winter, alongside the first raid, where players will confront Klaw. This is also a friendly reminder that Marvel's Avengers take on Spider-Man is still a PlayStation platform-exclusive hero.

//twitter.com/Pl??ayAvengers/status/1435651461287874562

There will also be a power level cap increase and some new cosmetics, but it isn't all ??just new content. Crystal Dynamics is also looking to rework its gear upgrading and resources. According to today's blog, the new system will let players upgrade Epic, Legendary, and Exotic gear from power level 100 up to the new?? power level cap.

Cosmetics are also becoming earnable through gameplay, including items that were previously only available in the Marketplace. Crystal Dynamics is planning on discussing detail??s of that in the coming months. And of course, there are some Marvel Cinematic Universe cosmetics in the works, too.

Anecdotally, I've seen some people hopping back into Marvel's Avengers with the recent War for Wakanda expansion pack. With a big raid and another new hero on the way too, I'm interested to see where Avengers stands in the public eye by the start o?f the new year.

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The next Marvel's Avengers roadmap is coming on September 8

Marvel's Avengers is a year old. ?It feels like people have b??een talking about it's "games as a service model" for forever though!

In any case, it actually is a year old as of September 4, 2021, and the team is celebrating with a few extras. From now through September 8 you can grab a new outfit, nameplate, and consumable pack via the "Anniversary Bundle." There's a??lso going to be an anniversary mission chain fo??r folks who have completed the campaign.

Here's what is perhaps the most interesting passage,?? though:

"You’ve ?been so patient, and we’re finally ready to share an updated Roadmap with you looking ahead through the rest of 20?21. Keep your eyes peeled for it on 9/8."

By all counts, the Marvel's Avengers Black Panther expan??sion has been a big hit with a lot of the playerbase, but the foundational elements of the game are still getting in the way. If the team can actually find a path to clean some of that up, make the game less microtransaction-heavy, and tease a new expansion that's up to par with Black Panther, they could salvage what they have left.

It's going to be a tough sell, though, to strip some of?? those elements out when the game was baked with them in the first place (which led to all this, with upfront sales and a lack of a tail).

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Black Panther leaps into battle

Marvel's Avengers fans are getting an influx of new stuff to do, as the War for Wakanda expansion goes live today.

The expansion adds Black Panther as a playable character, with martial arts-inspired moves, his Percussive Blast that sends kinetic energy out around him, and some devastating daggers. T'Challa's Heroics include a Vibranium spear, calling on Kimoyo Beads, and summoning a spectral pro?jection of the panther goddess Bast for a buff.

New content is also being added in the Wakandan jungle, ??a new biome to explore with its own dangers, defense weapons, and ancient structures. Plus, the villain Klaw is bringing some backup, and there will be some Vibranium-armored mercenaries and Sonic-powered foes to fight.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwAZoyHO3n0

All of it arrives in a free update today, for owners of Marvel's Avengers. You can find a full breakdown of the update here on the PlayStation blog, though longtime Avengers players will likely care a lot about the last point: UI updates. The War for Wakanda expansion also massively overhauls the Marvel's Avengers user interface, sorting the character tabs an??d altering the layout according t?o community feedback.

This is one of Marvel's Avengers biggest updates, which is likely good news for those who have been holding out for more of Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics' hero-action game. Content for Avengers is still gradually rolling out, though some long-awaited additions are still waiting in the wings; Spider-Man, for example, is "still on track" according to a recent interview.

But with the War for Wakanda expansion, this might be a big enough boost to get players online and jumping back in. It's clear today, at least, that Marvel's Avengers is?? going to keep carrying on with updates and building upon what ?it has.

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Wakanda Forever

Square Enix has revealed cinematic footage for the next expansion headed toward its epic comic book release Marvel's Avengers. War for Wakanda will see the amazing Black Panther d??efend his homeland from the nefarious Klaw, who has invaded King T?'Challa's home with an aim to steal the precious and powerful resource, Vibranium.

Marvel's Avengers: War for Wakanda will arrive as free DLC on all platforms in A??ugust.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf7W4CG-7MA

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'Come Hungry'

Square Enix has added its name to the burgeoning list of major publishers who will be hosting an E3 live stream in just one short week from now. June 13 will see the RPG masters take to the airwaves, shining a light on a selection of upcoming releases, anticipated sequels, and various DLC add-ons, with v??iewers advised to "Come Hu?ngry".

That's my secret, I'm always hungry.

Among the titles starring in the Square Enix E3 stream are Life is Strange: True Colors, (as well as the original Life is Strange remaster); PlatinumGames' classy and mysterious Babylon's Fall, which will be getting its first full gameplay showcase; and a look at Marvel's Avengers Wakanda DLC expansion. No doubt we'll also get news pertaining to the Final Fantasy franchise, particularly Final Fantasy VII Remake and its INTERmission expansion, which launches just?? days prior to the show.

The main event seems to be the reveal of a brand new project currently in the works at Eidos Montreal. The veteran studio has more than proved its worth with excellent releases such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution, sequel Mankind Divided, and the super-successful Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Whatever Eidos Montreal has up its sleeve, it will likely be well worth our time and attention?.

If you w?ant to check out the action for yourself, then the Square Enix E3 stream will go live June 13 at 12:15 PT / 15:15 ET / 20:15 BST, live on the Square Enix YouTube and Twitch channel??s. Of course, Destructoid will be on hand to report on all the top headlines, so don't sweat missing out on any of the scoops.

//twitter.com/SquareEnix/status/1?400467710287306753?s=20

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New studio led by former BioWare exec

Crystal Dynamics has announced the founding of a brand new studio in Austin, Texas. Officially dubbed Crystal Southwest, the studio has already set to work on multiple projects, with the fledgling studio expected to be "a major part of all ?current and future Crystal Dynamics titles."

Crystal Southwest is headed up by the fantastically named Dallas Dickinson, a 20-year industry veteran who has previously worked as a producer at Sony, as well as BioWare'??s Head of Production. Crystal Dynamics has already transitioned several staff members into the new office?s, but is also currently recruiting for multiple company roles.

It's good news for the long-time developer, currently on the backfoot a little following the less-than-stellar reception to Square Enix' Marvel's The Avengers. Expected to be a long-term, service game title, the comic-book epic struggled to find its intended audience, failing to meet its publisher's expectations and seeing its next-gen editions hit with an unfortunate delay. Hopefully t?he new studio expansion will signal an upswing for the ??developer's future.

We’re excited to announce our new development studio in Austin, Texas!

We are recruiting! Check out //t.co/RkufS73S29 for more information. pic.twitter.com/nMwCY3lD71

— Crystal Dynamics (@CrystalDynamics) May 26, 2021

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Brian Waggoner joins the crew

[Update: Waggoner re-clarifies that he is working in system design, and is not the new creative director of the game. Also, he officially starts at Crystal Dynamics next month, and anything he works on is going to take time, ??so don't expect overnight change.]

Marvel Avengers is hurting as a live service game, which pretty much everyone could have predicted right after reaching the end of it near its launch. But Crystal Dynamics might have a secret weapon up their sleeve: their newly-hired former Marvel developer Brian Waggoner, who worked on Marvel Heroes. This directly follows the departure of the game's creative director just a week before.

So here's what Waggoner has to say abo??ut his addition to the team. As a systems designer, he is going to help them "build new systems and features" (naturally!). But he also publicly shared his trepidation for working on a Marvel game again "after what happened at Gazillion."

Here's a quick recap. So Marvel Heroes launched in 2013, and was trucking along as a free-to-play MMO in the space with Gazillion and Secret Identity Studios co-developing. Four years in, amid a great purge of Disney-related developers from their licensing agreements, Disney pulled the plug and Gazillion as a studio effectively shut down that month. This is just a year after Disney crushed Avalanche Software into dust and obliterated Disney Infinity, among other projects.

Still, it was enticing enough for Waggoner to bite, and he felt like the "passion for making a game fans love and knowing the potential" was enough for him to make the move to Crystal Dynamics and give it another go. Waggoner cites the?? "leadership" of the studio as a big draw, as well as the ability to receive "honest feedback" with "no egos?."

Provided that's true (it is his new employer after all!), Waggoner could be the messiah the game needed to move away from some of the more penny-pinching concepts in recent months and put Avengers back on track. After all they still n??eed to honor their commitments for characters like Black Panther and Spider-Man, at least throughout t?he rest of the year.

I really hope the game actually gets back on track, and potentially reinvents itself, with a "Realm Reborn treatment," and we don't h??ave to write about it shutting down abruptly later this year.

Brian Waggoner [Twitter]

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Uncharted: The Lost Legacy director comes home

The creative director of Marvel's Avengers, Shaun Escayg, has left Crystal Dynamics to return to their prior studio of employment, Naughty Dog. Escayg's return was celebrated by the Naughty Dog team??, who gifted their long-absent team-mate a postcard and a sweet-ass mug.

"Happy to be back with the Dogs!" remarked Escayg on Twitter.

Escayg had previously worked with Naughty Dog on flagship franchises Uncharted and The Last of Us, ultimately becoming director for the excellent 2017 spin-off Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Escayg would leave the studio shortly thereafter for a role at Crystal Dynamics, serving as creative director for Square Enix's Marvel's Avengers. The epic comic-book adventure - designed as a long-term, games-as-a-service title - immediately failed to find its playerbase??, continuing to meander months after its initial September release.

Now, back in the fold of the much-vaunted Naughty Dog, Escayg is expected to feature in a creative director/writer role on the studio's future releases. The studio is reportedly at work on a new Uncharted title, as well as a PS5 remake of The Last of Us, though neither of these projects have?? been confirmed.

Welcome back @ShaunEscayg!

Excited have you back at the studio and looking forward to doing awesome stuff together. //t.co/E23pQ00XjS

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) April 19, 2021

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This kind of sums up the hard sell of this live service model

Marvel's Avengers is doing it again. Although this new weekly War Table update has some tweaks, and the game just launched a second Hawkeye, the marketplace is the big focus this time. Such is the?? life of a live service game.

The skins in question this time around are the "Aerospace outfits," which come in a set for the e??ntire team, including the new Hawkeyes. "Subsequent weeks" will swap new outfits in and out, so in addition to spe??nding real cash on them, (900 premium currency, which is roughly $9), you'll also have the FOMO of getting matching costumes as a group.

This week, Captain America and Iron Man are up. Starting strong! Our community said that those two were in the to?p three?? most-used characters in our poll near launch. Who knows how many people still play, of course. If you want, you can also ?grab a Black Widow BW046 nameplate for free as promotion for the upcoming MCU film.

Marvel's Avengers is in such a weird spot. It wasn't the best-received game ??at launch, much less after a number of improvements. It's a learning experience for big publishers. Maybe coming out of the gate super str??ong with mobile service provider tie-ins and a huge push for live service isn't always beneficial when it alienates the people you want to monetize.

Still, there's plenty of life left in ??this ga??me, and I'm curious to see where it goes. Black Panther and Spider-Man are up later this year, among others.

War Table [Avengers]

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Because we can't have nice things like free Spider-Man costumes

Ah man, looking ??at how different publishers handle different Marvel games is night? and day.

Some are probably more beholden to the license and answer to the Mouse. Others likely are given more creative freedom. Marvel's Avengers from Square Enix seems to be in a really weird spot, sandwiched between the whims of the MCU and deals with Sony for their Spider-??Man exclusive. The game ?suffered for it, in any case.

Take these two Marvel promotions for instance. Spider-Man just got a free suit this week. Meanwhile, Marvel's Avengers is teasing "new MCU costumes" that you have to pay credits for. Credits that can be earned or purchased outright with real money.

In any case, "nameplates, outfits inspired by the MCU, and a deadly HARM Room hacked by Yelena Belova (that's Florence Pugh's character in the upcoming MCU Black Widow film)" are coming to? th?e game "this spring." It's another in a string of glacial pace updates that a lot of people are tired of waiting for.

On top of the confusing?? PlayStation upgrade process, it hasn't been a good month for ?the game. It arguably hasn't been a good year for it.

Marvel's Avengers [Twitter]

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'The best place to play'

So, I have both console versions of Marvel's Avengers for testing,?? and when the new upgrade was released, I decided to take them for a spin. I had completely different experiences.

Like most things dealing with the "Smart Delivery" system on Xbox, I had no issues moving from Xbox One to Xbox Series X. Barely an inconvenience. The game knew I was running it on Series X, swap?ped to that version, and my save w?as there.

But on PlayStation (my main pla??tform because o??f the eventual promise of Spider-Man), like the Call of Duty upgrade, it was a pain. The main problem is save-migration. To do? so, you need to launch the PS4 version first, update the game, then you can see the "save migration tab" in the PS4 version. Initiate that, then download the PS5 version (is Sony aware ??of how quickly space runs out on the PS5?), and transfer the save. Then delete the PS4 version.

It was the same deal with Spider-Man Remastered at launch; so this process doesn't seem to be a launch day mishap, nor is it going away anytime soon. Instead, Sony is putting the burden on publishers to troubleshoot the cumbersome pro??cess. This is going to get real old real fast.

Marvel's Avengers [Twitter]

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After Black Panther, even

Just yesterday, we learned that Marvel's Avengers will be welcoming Black Panther into?? the fray "later this year." But what about Spider-Man, the still PlayStation exclusive hero? ?Later...than later, apparently.

Speaking to IGN, Scot Amos, Crystal Dynamics' head of stu??dio, noted that "formally, officially, people are working on him right now." However, there is a faint hint as to when that might be. He is coming "after Black Panther," which is lis?ted in the "beyond" section of the "summer and beyond" point of the roadmap.

This comes after the news that Spider-Man is not even on the official content roadmap at all for 2021. Given that folks are "working on him right now," that isn't great news that he'll even hit that "later than later than" target. Marvel's Avengers is still struggling to acquire new players and keep the audience it has, an??d the slowish roadmap for new characters isn't hel?ping much.

It makes sense that development is constrained right now, and not every stud??io has unlimited resources; but the rollout and messaging for this game has been all over the place. It could have been nipped in every avenue, but the drip-fed nature and release schedule of new heroes (two of which ??were archers named Hawkeye in the opening salvo), isn't helping things.

Marvel's Avengers: Spider-Man Be??ing Developed, But Not Coming Before Bl?ack Panther [IGN]

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Here's a short teaser trailer for War for Wakanda

During the Square Enix Presents showcase, we got a peek at Black Panther and Wakanda in Marvel's Avengers. It's hard to get excited about a nebulous "later this year" release window, b?ut it's something.

The War for Wakanda expansion will unsurprisingly add Klaw, "new enemies," and a jungle biome in which to endlessly fight them. It's a long time coming for Black Panther as a playable hero in Marvel's Avengers, and at this point, with the way this game's rollout has gon??e, I'm glad he's still coming.

Maybe the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions will magically turn things around? Anyone??

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New update to tweak XP and loot mechanics

Developer Crystal Dynamics and publisher Square Enix have announced a new update for their comic-book epic Marvel's Avengers. Droppin??g on March 18, the new patch will decelerate the amount of XP delivered to the player, slowing down the progression of each individual character and making it a tad longer to assemble Avengers.

In a statement on its official blog, Crystal Dynamics stated that the reason behind this move was to prevent players from being overrun with skill points and attributes early into a character's build. By slowing down the leveling process, player?s will be given the opportunity to explore a hero's skills and abilities at a more relaxed pace, rather than bum-rushing them with, hypothetically, a choice of six new moves after a single boss fight.

"In most RPGs, the amount of XP you need to level up increases a?s you gain l??evels in a curve, but our system is a straight line. This has led to pacing issues, such as skill points currently being rewarded too fast, which may be confusing and overwhelming to newer players. We want each decision to invest in a skill or Heroic to be more meaningful".

This line of thinking does make a smidgen of sense - slowing down the flood of skills and abilities will encourage further experimentation with character builds. But the issue here is that people who have dedicated time to playing Marvel's Avengers will, by now, be in the groove of the title's "flow." Implementing a major change of pace, this late in the day, risks irritating the dedicated playerbase, of which Marvel's Avengers' is already smaller than Square Enix would have liked. Any positives of this update would be less jarring to new players - perhaps with its incoming PS5 and Xbox Series X release - but whether a new community of players even exists in another matter entirely.

In a strange bit of double-speak, the statement also goes on to suggest that players who wish to quickly max out their heroes at level 50 hurry up and do so before the update drops, which implies that the current XP rate is the adopted meta for the game, and only serves to make the incoming al??teration look all the more intrusive and pointless for the game's community.

Additionally, the new update will also bring changes to Marvel's Avengers loot system. As explained by Crystal Dynamics, players will no longer receive random cosmetic drops via ??methods such as leveling up, completing missions, and opening strongboxes. Instead, certain rare items will be made available for purchase with Units directly from the in-game vendor, Chastity McBryde. Chastity's store will be reworked to allow this. Crystal Dynamics hopes this provides players with more agency in the rewards that they earn.

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