Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix’s multiplayer online game, Marvel’s Avengers, will close in 2023. In a recent blog post, the developers announced their intentions to cease adding new content and support for the game. This decision arrived two and a half years after the game’s initial release in August 2020.
According to Crystal Dynamics, the players can still enjoy the game in single-player and multiplayer modes. Still, they cannot guarantee that they will resolve any issues arising after support ends.
Although some fans of Marvel’s Avengers expected the end of support, they still feel disappointed that they won’t see the full resolution of the story or its full potential. Upon the announcement by Crystal Dynamics that they will no longer be offering the game and halting its active development, the community expressed their disappointment through social media.
Many players have complained about releasing cosmetic items for free after investing substantial money, and people are disappointed that implementing the desired features will not occur. In addition, some feel unhappy about the shutdown of a game they enjoyed playing. The developers announced that after a series of frequent updates that brought new cosmetic items and additional characters, such as Spider-Man and Black Panther, the release of new content and features would end on March 31st, 2023. Additionally, from September 30th, 2023, all official support for the game will end, resulting in its removal from digital platforms. However, players can still enjoy the game in single-player and multiplayer modes.
According to a blog post by Crystal Dynamics, giving the entire collection of cosmetic content from the Marketplace as a gift is a way to show appreciation for the community by allowing everyone to access all the content in Marvel’s Avengers. In addition, any player who still holds the game’s real-world currency equivalent after the final update on March 31st, 2023, will have it converted into in-game resources.
The final tweaks to the balance within the game will occur in March. Upon completion of these adjustments, all cosmetic items, including outfits, takedowns, and nameplates, will be made accessible to players free of charge, with no need to purchase credits. Unspent credits will be transformed into in-game resources, as outlined in a chart that displays the corresponding amount of resources players will receive based on the number of credits they possess.
One Reddit user, Isa-MC, expressed that the incomplete story was the main problem with Marvel’s Avengers, stating that the game was “full of potential, but ended without fulfilling its complete story.” They added that the lack of Kree, Ultron, and Carol and a proper ending could have been better. Another user, Rojo696, expressed a desire for a mini-series from Marvel to bring closure to the story.
However, the most significant grievance among players is that the story of Avengers will always be incomplete. Despite the addition of three major expansions, storylines established in the base game will remain unresolved.
In Marvel’s Avengers, a rich single-player narrative journey centered around Kamala Khan takes the player, a fan of the Avengers, who transforms into the superhero Ms. Marvel and sets out to bring the titular team back together following a catastrophic event that caused its members to scatter. In addition, the game allows players to play a variety of individual missions with each other.
Despite the efforts made by Crystal Dynamics to enhance Marvel’s Avengers post-launch, Square Enix frequently referred to the game as a disappointment in their presentations to investors..
Square Enix was not just critical of its Western games but also those developed by studios such as Eidos Montreal for their game “Guardians of the Galaxy,” despite receiving positive reviews. Eventually, Square Enix sold its Western development studios to Embracer Group, including Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal.