Marvel’s Avengers can be described as many things, but a successful game is not one of them, and the live service structure that Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics went with is one of the culprits. Failing to achieve the same success as the live-action films from the MCU, the game had the potential to improve where the films lacked, but it turned out to be a major disappointment.
Marvel’s Avengers Could Have Utilized Ultron Better Than the MCU
The game was originally conceived with the idea of constant updates and content support from developers and an overarching story meant to span multiple seasons. Ultron was meant to appear as a villain, and actor Jim Meskimen had already recorded dialogue before the untimely cancellation.
In late 2019, Jim Meskimen recorded dialogue as Ultron for an ultimately cancelled Marvel's Avengers season 2 content update. A later attempt to salvage this work for the game's famously delayed "Patrol Mode" was also ultimately cancelled when development ceased in early 2023. pic.twitter.com/yx05qf2nfi
— Miller Ross (@mmmmmmmmiller) April 5, 2024
Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are bound to make enemies, and one of the teams has taken it quite literally. In the MCU, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner were responsible for the creation of Ultron, who later betrayed the team. At the same time, the character’s origin was somewhat faithful to the source material in the video game.
The Marvels star Iman Vellani, who portrayed Ms. Marvel, initially enjoyed playing a version of her character in a game that properly showed her powerful capabilities, but just like the rest of the player base, she got bored with the gameplay. It is one of the many issues of the game that made Square Enix question the project’s longevity and come to the decision that it is not panning out the way it was envisioned.
The future of the ambitious game could have matched the levels of anticipation fans had with the MCU, but the lackluster performance, repetitive gameplay, and poor reception were all indicators of a project that wouldn’t even last a few years.
Ultron Would Have More to Do in Future Seasons of Marvel’s Avengers
Ultron was a major threat to the Avengers in the comics; however, recent interpretations of the character in the MCU made him look weaker than anticipated, and it would have been nice to see Crystal Dynamics’ take on the villain before the cancellation.
The failure of the game most likely affected the future of other multiplayer titles that focus on other Marvel heroes, like Spider-Man: The Great Web from Insomniac Games. Perhaps developers were shocked to see a popular IP like the Avengers fumble embarrassingly in video games and did not want to take the risk.
Unfortunately, Meskimen has already recorded lines for the update, but there is a low probability of his work seeing the light of day. Crystal Dynamics planned to use his work for the Patrol Mode feature, which was delayed multiple times and ultimately never implemented.
Ultron’s image was somewhat redeemed by Ross Marquand’s portrayal of Ultron in recent MCU projects. However, it’s unfortunate that the villain’s complete development in a future storyline, which was teased extensively in the game, will not be realized.
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