Highlights
- Marvel and DC's forays into video games have been largely disappointing when oriented toward the live service space.
- Marvel's Avengers, with its customization systems and grind-heavy gameplay, failed to capture the power fantasy of being a member of the team.
- Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League may face similar challenges, as the live service model may not align with the freedom expected in the superhero genre.
A titan of the entertainment industry, Marvel has become more prolific than ever in its years as a Disney brand. The MCU has brought classic comic book characters into the mainstream spotlight and broken consecutive box office records, but the same can't be said of Marvel's forays into video games. DC's own cinematic universe is soon to be rebooted with a fresh new vision, but the state of the brand's own game shares a lot of similarities with that of Marvel's, calling into question if the current formula for superhero games is really working out.
Marvel and DC alike have licensed IPs to companies that chose to focus on a live service style direction in hopes of creating long-lasting experiences, but these efforts have generally had the opposite effect. Between the mixed reception to several similar titles of the past and even games still yet to come, the superhero genre is in need of a fresh outlook that can break the mold. In considering what it would take for their future games to thrive, the blunders of both Marvel and DC paint a clear picture of a downward trend in the live service space.
Marvel's The Avengers Was Just the Beginning
Initially a hyped announcement, Marvel's Avengers infamously disappointed many fans who had good faith in the third-person action experience on offer. Focused on customization systems and grind-heavy looter-shooter style gameplay found in games like Destiny 2 and Anthem, Marvel's Avengers felt far removed from the power fantasy of being a member of the titular team for many. Reliant upon its post-release content to stay alive due to its nature as a live service, the updates that followed didn’t help the genre’s reputation among consumers.
Support continued with several expansions to the base roster, but the post-release content ultimately wasn’t enough to recover Marvel's Avengers’ declining player count. Soon to see support come to an end next month, Marvel’s biggest property was a major letdown when compared to the success of the MCU. The addition of characters like Black Panther, both Hawkeyes, and even Jane Foster’s The Mighty Thor coincided with various huge film and TV projects featuring them respectively, but this excitement never truly translated into better numbers for Marvel’s Avengers.
Gotham Knights' Rumored Past and the State of Live Service Titles
Another controversial superhero title, Gotham Knights is an interesting case of a game that let fans down despite lacking the actual live service monetization that games like Marvel's Avengers pushed. A more traditional experience in this way, the game's actual mechanical focus on looter-shooter style elements and gear has caused players to theorize that the game could have originally been intended as a live service title. With similar games of that formula such as Marvel's Avengers not meeting expectations in recent years, it's possible that Gotham Knights was refocused during the middle of development for the sake of avoiding even more negative feedback, though it might have just been stylized this way in standard co-op nonetheless.
Potentially setting itself up to be in the same boat as Gotham Knights, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is not quite the continuation of Arkham that fans had hoped for. Seeing even the prestigious Rocksteady ready to jump into a live service model, players have already voiced concerns over Kill the Justice League’s underwhelming third-person shooter gameplay and potentially grind-heavy battle pass elements. It’s an undeniably profitable business model that has grown to be at the top of the industry, but there’s a possibility that the limitations of a live service experience don’t exactly meld with the freedom expected in the superhero genre, regardless of whether it's from Marvel or DC.