Cognition Dissemination: How Did an Avengers Game Underperform?
The Marvel’s Avengers game looked like a guaranteed success from the moment the deal with Square Enix was announced in 2017, and it would have been foolish to think otherwise. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been on top of the theatrical world for years now, and reached its (perhaps current) zenith with Avengers: Endgame in 2019 as far as box office gross and critical reception are concerned. The movie dethroned the pretty-but-forgettable James Cameron’s Avatar to become the highest-grossing film in history. Crystal Dynamics being tapped to handle the game made its impending success even more certain, an exceptionally talented development house that previously handled the first two installments in the rebooted Tomb Raider series. The logic was that any adaptation of a Marvel property was too big to fail, especially if it branded the Avengers name.
Yet, fail it did. Square Enix confirmed during their recent investor briefing that it sold below what they were hoping. “The HD Games sub-segment posted an operating loss as initial sales of ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ were lower than we had expected and unable to completely offset the amortization of the game’s development costs,” they said, indicating how they were banking on its big sales for much of their revenue for the last quarter.
Signs that it underperformed manifested before the acknowledgment, like the anemic player count shortly after release (which recently got a small boost thanks to the arrival of DLC and a discount). While the game debuted at the top of the charts in the month it released in the US, according to the NPD, so did Bioware’s Anthem, a multiplayer live service game similar to this one. It was as clear for that game as it is clear for this one that the ostensibly high sales still weren’t enough to meet the lofty expectations.
There are clear reasons why it came up short. In yet another similarity to Anthem (really not the game they want to mimic), the launch version didn’t have enough content to keep players interested for long. It’s a loot-driven game with not enough loot, basically. It’s also taking them too long to provide more content. The COVID-19 pandemic and need for several developers to work from home hasn’t helped, but the players are rarely this understanding after forking over $60 or more. Kate Bishop was recently released as a playable character, but while Black Panther was understandably delayed out of respect for the far-too-early death of Chadwick Boseman, it’s not the best look that Captain Marvel arrived in Fortnite before the official Avengers game despite her being specifically teased for this first.
The performance issues at launch didn’t help either, though it’s since been bested by another heavily-hyped AAA game. (A lot of games have arrived with bugs and glitches this fall, another factor likely due to the pandemic.) Other players may have never gotten over the Uncanny Valley faces that freaked people out when the game was revealed, though they were since altered to diminish the effect. The character who averts this creepiness the best is, to no surprise, the key story character who hasn’t debuted in the live-action MCU — yet.
There’s an argument that Marvel’s Avengers’ underperformance shouldn’t be as big a surprise as it is, given how this isn’t the first Marvel-branded game in recent memory to sell below expectations. Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite was thought to be a sure success when it was announced too. It was a new installment in a popular Vs. fighting game series from Capcom, but also first title since the Marvel Cinematic Universe hit it big. Infinite even adopted elements from the MCU, reflected in its “cinematic” soundtrack, attempt at a more realistic look, and some Marvel character choices. Despite all that, the game underperformed when it released, even compared to the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 titles.
It wasn’t that desire for a new MvC game was low, but both Marvel and Capcom made decisions that ensured how desire for Infinite was. Some character choices were unfortunate (particularly leaving all X-Men out), and decisions like relegating Black Widow and Black Panther to DLC were mistakes. They also tried to achieve the more realistic look for returning MvC3 characters by removing the shading for the character models, which made them look cheap. Both Infinite and Marvel’s Avengers show that these games aren’t underperforming because of the lack of demand for Marvel games, but because the companies behind them made peculiar decisions.
Square Enix is not happy with Avengers’ performance thus far, and maybe Marvel feels similarly. It’s tough to determine what this will mean for the Guardians of the Galaxy game also green lit as part of this deal, being developed by Deus Ex studio Eidos Montreal. It’s been over two years since the studio released their last project, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, meaning the game is likely knee-deep in development. There will now be immense pressure on them to put out a high-selling game, especially if it’s another live service title.
Whatever happens, it’s clear that Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics will be stuck with Avengers for the next several years, as they continue to release new content for it. There’s always a chance of a comeback akin to Bungie’s Destiny, but those don’t often happen, and there’s far more competition in the live service sector now compared to six years ago. They could even take the comparisons to Anthem even further by rebooting its development in the future. Either way, pray that Marvel is merciful for the sake of the companies involved, and that Square Enix’s western districts get another hit in the near future.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
