In early 2017, Square Enix and Marvel Entertainment announced that the companies would be working together to develop multiple Marvel-based titles over the new few years. Today, Square Enix showed its willingness to take things a step further by adding a brand new studio to bring those promises to life.

The announcement of a new studio, named Crystal Northwest, comes by way of parent company Square Enix. The new team, based out of Bellevue, Washington, has been tasked with two major goals in mind: providing technical development for future projects, and taking the mantle as the team behind the upcoming Avengers Project. Along with bringing over key staff members from Crystal's main headquarters in Redwood, California, the team will be led by industry veterans Chad Queen and James Loe, who both played lead roles at Wargaming Seattle before heading to Crystal Northwest.

The Avengers Project and the official announcement of Square Enix and Marvel's partnership was revealed in January 2017, yet fans haven't heard any more news pertaining to the project other than additional staff hiring. Some of those hired include the likes of Shaun Escayg (Creative Director for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy) and Vincent Napoli (Lead Combat Designer for God of War), to name a few. In a press release following the trailer reveal for the Marvel collaboration, Square Enix did mention there would be new details and projects being revealed in 2018.

To see an entire studio built and immediately given the task of delivering a project on a scale this size, given the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is no task to take lightly. While Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics might seem like they're putting all their eggs in one basket, most of the staff transitions from the company's Redwood studio happened after Shadow of the Tomb Raider went gold.

As far as the new details Square Enix has been teasing for nearly two years now, this leaves room for additional information to surface from the company. There have been rumors for over a year now of Eidos Montreal also working on a Guardians of the Galaxy game as part of the multi-year, multi-project deal with Marvel Entertainment. So while confirmation of Crystal Dynamics' well being is nice to hear, more detailed news from the teams behind Deus Ex and Tomb Raider is still expected to come soon enough.

The Avengers Project currently has no release date.

Source: Crystal Dynamics