Marvel's Avengers will receive no new content and its final patch arrives in March
All support and sales will end in September
Crystal Dynamics are ending support for Marvel's Avengers, their live service superhero game. That means it won't receive any further new content, its final balance patch will be released on March 31st, and all other support and the sale of the game will cease on September 30th. Players who already own the game at that point will be able to continue playing in single- and multiplayer, for at least a while.
"After two-and-a-half years and introducing twelve of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, following Update 2.8 on March 31, 2023, we will no longer add new content or features to Marvel’s Avengers. All official support for the game will end on September 30, 2023," says the announcement on the Avengers site.
"Update 2.7, which added the Winter Soldier Hero and Cloning Lab Omega-Level Threat, is the last new content to be added to the game. No new cosmetics are coming to the Marketplace, and all final balance updates will occur in Update 2.8 in March."
Update 2.8 will also make "all the game’s Marketplace, Challenge Card, and Shipment cosmetic content available to all players for free," as a way of thanking players for their support.
Although the plan is for multiplayer to remain available, Crystal Dynamics say that "after September 30, 2023 we can’t guarantee that we will be able to address issues that occur due to unforeseen circumstances." That's not promising news for those still playing the game - of which there are hundreds on Steam, at least.
Marvel's Avengers received a rough reception from the moment it was first shown, when people thought its take on Tony Stark, Steve Rogers et al. made them look like knock-off toys based on the films. Or worse. It didn't get much better after release, as live service power progression is a tough needle to thread at the best of times, and only made harder by a fictional world in which everyone is meant to be superpowered. Sales failed to meet Square Enix's expectations at launch in 2020, and Square Enix sold Crystal Dynamics and all their Western development studios to Embracer Group last year.
The upside, if you can call it that, might be more Legacy Of Kain games from Crystal Dynamics instead.