Marvel Entertainment and Square Enix have announced a new multi-year partnership to develop and publish multiple games based on Marvel’s super heroes. The first game will be developed by Crystal Dynamics and Eidos-Montréal and will be based on The Avengers. Here is the official description:
The Avengers project is being designed for gamers worldwide and will be packed with all the characters, environments, and iconic moments that have thrilled longtime fans of the franchise. Featuring a completely original story, it will introduce a universe gamers can play in for years to come.
“The Avengers project is a perfect example of how Marvel is making games a key part of the landscape for Marvel storytelling, alongside comics, television and film,” said Jay Ong, Senior VP at Marvel. “By partnering with Crystal Dynamics and Eidos-Montréal, we are now working with two of the industry’s most talented and respected game development studios to bring Marvel stories to life in way our fans have never experienced.”
For those who still associate Square-Enix mostly with Final Fantasy, the partnership may seem like an odd fit. But in recent years Square-Enix has published the well-received Tomb Raider reboots developed by Crystal Dynamics. They’re also home to Eidos-Montréal’s excellent (and also rebooted) Deus Ex series. Those series feature third and first-person action gameplay with dramatic stories, and could serve as good models for future Marvel games.
“It’s exciting to bring together Square Enix’s award-winning development studios with Marvel’s extraordinary storytellers to establish a new entertainment powerhouse,” said Phil Rogers, CEO of Square-Enix America. “This collaboration of passion and talent will craft epic, imaginative experiences allowing gamers to live out their Super Hero dreams like never before.”
We don’t know any concrete details about “The Avengers project.” Teases in the press release could point to some kind of online or shared universe. More information on The Avengers project and future games will be announced in 2018.
