ANTHEM

After having built itself up as one of the best Western RPG developers in the industry over the course of decades, with Anthem, BioWare decided to go down the live service looter shooter route, and it was… well, let’s be generous here and say it wasn’t great. Anthem was a failure by pretty much every metric, because not only was it sorely lacking in the things that had made previous BioWare games as great as they were, it wasn’t even a good looter shooter. Hell, it wasn’t even a competent one. It was rife with technical and connectivity issues, missions and objectives were boring, the loot balancing and progression systems were broken, and there was a shocking lack of content, a terrible issue to have a for a game that claims to be live service. Of course, it didn’t even end up being live service in the end, because after a short period that saw intermittent and underwhelming updates (and some talk of a complete overhaul), BioWare and EA ultimately decided that it just wasn’t worth the effort, and chose to shut Anthem down.

DEAD RISING 4

The Dead Rising series had already suffered a bit of a dip with its third instalment, but Dead Rising 4 turned out to be the final nail in the coffin for what had at one point seemed like a major Capcom franchise. Unfortunately, it seemed like the game just never got what it was about the series that fans liked. From the questionable changes made to Frank West’s character to the ridiculously over-the-top tone that tried too hard to be funny, from poor design decisions (like the removal of timers) to disappointing boss fights, there was too much about the game that just didn’t work out.

Prominent Marvel’s Avengers leaker Miller Ross has claimed in a report published on Exputer that Crystal Dynamics has ceased development on the game, with an official announcement regarding the same set to be made sometime next week.

The project’s lead developer Brian Waggoner was recently in the midst of a controversy following racist remarks on his Twitter profile. As per Ross’ report, Waggoner has since been let go with Crystal Dynamics, and the studio seemingly has no plans of replacing him. The remainder of the small team that is currently working on it is soon also going to be shifted over to the next Tomb Raider game.

The game is set to receive one final major update, which will bring improvements to traversal mechanics for a number of characters. Other changes are also set to be made with the update, such as overhaul of the currently available cosmetic microtransactions and the removal of artificial time gating systems. That said, plenty of content that had been planned and was in the works is allegedly being shelved.

As per the report, this includes not only the previously-leaked She-Hulk expansion, but also a new free roam mode called Patrol Mode, where players would take on bosses in unique encounters; join-in-progress functionality, which would allow players to seamlessly drop in and out of ongoing missions; and even a new story arc involving Ultron.

Following its final aforementioned update, Marvel’s Avengers will allegedly only receive maintenance patches for bug fixes, though the report claims that the game will be kept playable for the existing player base for “as long as possible”, and also remain on sale digitally until at least September.

Previously, Ross has also claimed that Embracer Group – which is, of course, now the parent company of Crystal Dynamics – is working on a deal with Marvel Games that “exists well beyond” the Avengers game. It remains to be seen whether those plans – assuming they’re real – will be impacted by Avengers’ alleged shutdown in any way.

ANTHEM

It’s hard to think of many games in recent years where the gulf is as wide between the product that was promised and the one that was delivered as it was for Anthem. BioWare set out to deliver something unique and fresh, but failed on nearly every level imaginable. Anthem didn’t deliver in any of the ways you’d expect a BioWare game to, from its story to its world to choice and consequence mechanics, but it didn’t even deliver as a looter shooter- in fact, on that front, it was downright broken. Add to that a bevy of technical issues that made it downright unplayable, and it’s not hard to see why BioWare and EA ended up quickly dumping the IP and moving on from it.

The report describes Marvel’s Avengers’ many behind-the-scenes issues, chief among them being its usage of Crystal Dynamics’ internal engine, which, owing to massive accumulated tech debt, has caused a bevy of issues with the game (and is partly why the studio has transitioned to Unreal Engine 5 for the next Tomb Raider game).

Other issues with the game are described throughout the report, including lackluster post-launch support, a failure to meet the release schedule for a number of post-launch releases, failure to add previously promised features to the game, and controversies attached to the game’s developers. Due to shifting internal priorities, it seems like the frequently-leaked She-Hulk expansion has also been cancelled.

The report goes on to say that Marvel’s Avengers support will be ending soon as a result of its many issues. At the outset, Crystal Dynamics allegedly intended to support the game for a period of at least 3-5 years, and at this point, it seems like the studio only plans to hit the lower end of the threshold. According to Ross’ report, Marvel’s Avengers will be sunset in 2023, with no plans to release new content for the game beyond that. Ross has previously reported this as well.

Of course, what’s interesting is that according to recent reports, Crystal Dynamics’ new owner Embracer Group is in the process of working out a Marvel deal that “extends well beyond Avengers“, so it remains to be seen whether that’ll see Crystal Dynamics being roped back into the universe. For now, however, it seems like the studio’s experience with the beloved universe isn’t going to live long in the memory for anyone after its seemingly imminent demise.

Marvel’s Avengers is getting a new update today that will add the Winter Soldier as a new playable character, bringing new missions, cosmetics, and loot. In addition to that, Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that the Cloning Lab will also be finally added to the game. The endgame activity will see a group of four players going up against a resurrected MODOK. With a Power Level requirement of 175 (and the level cap being pushed up to 185), Crystal Dynamics describes it as a “high-level” activity.

How much of a future marvel’s Avengers has after this update remains to be seen. A recent report has claimed that the future looks grim for the title, and that it may not make it to Update 4.0. Read more on that through here.

Marvel’s Avengers is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

https://twitter.com/PlayAvengers/status/1597262793656487936

Known leaker Miller, who has a solid track record where leaks for Marvel’s Avengers are concerned, recently said on the Lunch Table Podcast that recent conversations that he’s had with people in the known about the game’s plans “paint a rather grim picture of the future” (via PlayStation LifeStyle).

“I was on record a few months ago saying I don’t think we’re going to make it to the 4.0 update series. I really don’t see it,” he added. “I mean, that’s over a year away. We still have the whole 3.0 update series to get through.”

Previous leaks have suggested that there is at least one more upcoming character in the pipeline for Marvel’s Avengers with She-Hulk, though as per Miller, her addition to the game has been delayed, in spite of having originally been planned for a 2021 launch- though it might pick up pace again should new owner Embacer Group release the budget and resources that Crystal Dynamics will need.

Marvel’s Avengers is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The Winter Soldier update arrives on November 29.

The Winter Soldier’s backstory has become very well known in recent years, and the antihero’s propensity to be brainwashed by the bad guys is seemingly going to be part of his arc in Marvel’s Avengers as well, with Monica Rappaccini involved as well. The update that adds Bucky as a playable character will also add a new line of missions, new cosmetics and loot, and of course, new skills and abilities to use as Bucky in combat. You can get more details in the trailer below.

Marvel’s Avengers is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The Winter Soldier update arrives on November 29.

Now we know exactly when to expect the new hero. Jane Foster will be added to the game on June 28. Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix have announced the same via a new trailer. That trailer, bafflingly enough, doesn’t show any gameplay for the upcoming character in spite of her imminent launch, but is instead an animated story-focused cinematic serving as an introduction for her. Check it out below.

Crystal Dynamics has previously confirmed that Foster will arrive with her own Hero Challenge card, cosmetics, a heroic mission chain, special moves, and lore in the form of Intelligence Files, but with her also using Mjolnir in combat, you can expect her to have plenty in common with Thor.

Crystal Dynamics and the bulk of Square Enix’s western studios and IP are being sold off to the Embracer Group, with the deal set to be completed later this year. Marvel’s Avengers (and Eidos Montreal’s Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy) are also likely to be included in that sale, though that might depend on Disney’s approval- read more on that through here.