Pour one out for Marvel’s Avengers, as the live-service superhero game is reportedly shutting down imminently, with an official announcement said to be coming as soon as next week. Last month, we heard rumors the game would be winding down in 2023, but that additional content, including new characters like She-Hulk and Captain Marvel, would still be delivered before the game was sunset. Well, apparently plans have changed.
According to Miller Ross, the best-known Marvel’s Avengers leaker and source of the original 2023 shutdown rumors, plans to wrap up the game have accelerated. This is largely tied to the departure of Avengers lead designer Brian Waggoner, who found himself in hot water last year when various racially insensitive tweets were uncovered. At first, Crystal Dynamics simply removed him as a public spokesperson, but he’s now parted ways with the company. His position will not be filled with somebody else and most of the Avengers dev team is now moving over to work on the new Tomb Raider game.
This means a final slate of content planned for Marvel’s Avengers will never arrive. That includes several new characters, including She-Hulk, Captain Marvel, Ironheart, and Shuri, a free-roaming “Patrol Mode,” and an event that would have pit the Avengers against Ultron. On the plus side, Crystal Dynamics will reportedly offer a few smaller updates before moving on, including an update to traversal that will make older heroes feel better to control and changes that will make the game’s progression and monetization more generous. Ultimately, the plan is to continue selling and keeping servers on for Avengers after active development has ended.
Of course, take with a small grain of salt until we get an official announcement, but Ross has the goods on Marvel’s Avengers, and the winding down makes sense. Crystal Dynamics is under new management, having been bought by Embracer Group, and are on to new things, so perhaps it’s time to cut losses.
Marvel’s Avengers can be played on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5.
