[UPDATE: 1/20/2023 - Crystal Dynamics has officially confirmed that post-launch support for Marvel's Avengers will be ending following Update 2.8 for the game on March 31, 2023. More details can be found here.]

Crystal Dynamics reportedly plans to end the post-launch support for Marvel’s Avengers. While the former Square Enix subsidiary hasn’t made any official statement to that effect, an announcement should be forthcoming if the report is correct.

Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix released the licensed brawler Marvel’s Avengers in September 2020. The main story follows novice superheroine Ms. Marvel as she assembles the disbanded Avengers to defeat the villains Taskmaster and MODOK and the sinister corporation AIM. Marvel’s Avengers has since received a substantial amount of post-launch content, continuing the story and adding new heroes, missions, and locations. Unfortunately, however, the game received mediocre reviews, and Marvel’s Avengers started losing players shortly after release.

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The game’s flagging popularity may be why Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics is reportedly planning to end active development for Marvel’s Avengers. According to eXputer, the company plans to announce the end of post-launch support as soon as next week. The developer’s exit strategy reportedly includes removing artificial time gating and overhauling cosmetic microtransactions. The report also indicates that Crystal Dynamics plans to stop selling Marvel’s Avengers at some point after September, though it’s unclear if the company has yet to set a date. However, the studio reportedly plans to let fans keep playing after it pulls Marvel’s Avengers from stores.

Marvel's Avengers Ms Marvel

eXputer’s sources report that Crystal Dynamics plans to release Marvel’s Avengers next patch as planned. This final update changes the game’s traversal mechanics, hopefully bringing heroes like Hulk and Captain America into line with the rest of the roster. Marvel’s Avenger’s next update also includes assorted bug fixes.

However, much of Marvel’s Avengers planned content reportedly won’t see the light of day. Canned features reportedly include a free-roaming Patrol Mode, which would have let players travel the game’s largest map performing open-world activities. Among them would have been a new system of Boss Bounties, where players battle various Marvel villains. Crystal Dynamics was also working on new content featuring Marvel villain Ultron. His boss fight reportedly would have seen players need to set up a series of beacons to extract a rogue AI possessing the NPC robot Roy. Marvel’s Avengers’ other dropped content includes drop-in co-op and new Heroes, including She-Hulk and Captain Marvel.

Crystal Dynamic’s plans to sunset Marvel’s Avengers first leaked in December. However, the process was accelerated following the departure of Brian Waggoner. The game’s Lead developer, Waggoner was reportedly let go over old racist tweets that the company felt made him an unsuitable spokesman. Crystal Dynamics has no plan to replace him, and Marvel’s Avengers team continues to dwindle as the game approaches the end of its active lifespan.

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

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Source: eXputer