Given the world-conquering success of the MCU, it’s surprising how few AAA licensed games we’ve seen based on Marvel superheroes. Way back in the first phase of the franchise, we saw a range of cruddy licensed titles that adapted Iron Man, Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor. Since then, the Marvel Universe has been largely represented in games by LEGO outings and cheap iOS and Android apps that were essentially just promotional tools (with last year’s Marvel’s Spider-Man a delightful exception that hopefully points the way forward). But that’s set to change with Crystal Dynamics upcoming AAA game, known currently as The Avengers Project.
Back in January 2017, Marvel announced a partnership with Square Enix to develop a range of titles, with the upcoming game teased as follows:
“The Avengers project is being designed for gamers worldwide and will be packed with all the characters, environments, and iconic moments that have thrilled longtime fans of the franchise. Featuring a completely original story, it will introduce a universe gamers can play in for years to come.”
It’s been radio silence since then, but it seems that Tomb Raider reboot developer Crystal Dynamics is making the game and, judging by this job advert, it looks like it could be next-gen only. Most interesting is the ad for External Lead Producer, which makes reference to candidates needing skills to build games for “next-gen consoles,” and the fact that elsewhere they refer to the PS4 and Xbox One as current gen indicates that they’re gearing up for PlayStation 5 and whatever the next Xbox is called (Xbox Two?).
Considering that the game hasn’t even been unveiled yet, this makes a lot of sense. The PS4 and Xbox One were released six years ago and despite still regularly wowing us, the core technology inside them is getting a bit creaky. It’s widely assumed that Sony and Microsoft will unveil their next-generation consoles this year, potentially targeting a 2020 release (or even a winter 2019 release if they want to surprise people), so any unannounced game may as well take advantage of the extra grunt those systems will provide.
Here’s hoping we get a proper reveal for The Avengers Project very soon!