Few live-service games in recent memory have had a more tumultuous lifecycle than Marvel's Avengers. Crystal Dynamics' character-based, third-person action game has struggled at nearly every point of development, receiving heavy scrutiny from gamers and critics alike for everything from character designs to microtransactions. Now, Marvel's Avengers' failure to succeed has culminated in developer Crystal Dynamics ending support for the game with Update 2.8 releasing on March 31. After this update, the game will receive no new content, and it will be removed from all storefronts in September.
Marvel's Avengers centered its biggest content drops around the introduction of new Marvel heroes, with previous DLCs including Black Panther, the Mighty Thor, and most recently the Winter Soldier. Many of these comic heroes were welcome additions, and fans of the game had reason to believe many more heroes could be added thanks to leaks and information from dataminers. Unfortunately, these hopes will remain unrealized, and the absence of one character in particular leaves a sizable hole in what could have been a satisfying roster of iconic characters.
Captain Marvel Could Have Rejuvenated Marvel's Avengers' Gameplay
Out of the many characters that were leaked to appear in Marvel's Avengers, the one that stood out the most was Carol Danvers' Captain Marvel. The powerful superheroine has been riding a wave of popularity since her introduction in the MCU, and her inclusion in Marvel's Avengers would give fans an opportunity to embody the hero like few other video games have allowed. Although there was no official announcement to add Captain Marvel to the game, leaked DLC plans for Marvel's Avengers all but confirmed she would be in its content roadmap.
One of the primary complaints levied towards Marvel's Avengers has been how some of its DLC heroes are just a different flavor of a preexisting character. Kate Bishop functions similarly to Hawkeye, and the Mighty Thor plays a lot like Thor, but Captain Marvel could have been a truly distinct addition. With her combination of strength, ranged capabilities, and flashy powers, there would have been great potential to break up the monotony of taking down the same cookie-cutter enemies with a roster that mostly consists of one-note brawlers.
Captain Marvel Could Have Been A Strong Narrative Addition
Marvel's Avengers did some things very well with its narrative, from Kamala Khan's ascension to Ms. Marvel to the surprise reveal of a Kree sentry buried in the San Francisco Bay. Captain Marvel would have had great potential to expand on these story beats. Giving Kamala a chance to come face-to-face with her idol would have been an excellent payoff for many fans, and Captain Marvel's many conflicts with the Kree in the comics would reinforce their threat and open up the possibility for an in-game Kree invasion event.
Marvel's Avengers always had a wealth of potential with its wide range of heroes to add and comic source material to take inspiration from. Unfortunately, the financial and critical shortcomings of the game were a constant hindrance, and now it's reached a fate that many gamers were anticipating. Now, Captain Marvel will never make her anticipated appearance in Marvel's Avengers, nor will other leaked characters like She-Hulk and War Machine. As support for the game winds down, fans can only hope that one of the most prolific teams in comics will get the game it deserves sometime in the future.
Marvel's Avengers is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
