As the presence of superheroes continues to grow on the silver screen, so too is it growing in the world of video games with series like Spider-Man and the Batman: Arkham to enjoy. Marvel's cosmic band of misfits are among the most recent to find their way to PC and home consoles with 2021's Guardians of the Galaxy from Square Enix and Eidos Montreal. However, after apparently coming in below initial sales expectations, Eidos Montreal says the game's player-base is growing with it now available on Xbox Game Pass.
Guardians of the Galaxy follows the titular ragtag team of bounty hunters struggling for work in the wake of a massive, intergalactic war involving the Kree and Nova Corps. The team's latest job finds them roped into a new conflict involving the Universal Church of Truth and its leader, Grand Unifier Raker, as it works to spread its influence across the stars. It ultimately falls to Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot to learn what Raker's plans are for the galaxy and ultimately stop the power-mad unifier.
The recent audience growth came up as part of interviews Eurogamer conducted with Eidos Montreal members ahead of the 2022 BAFTA Video Game Awards, where Guardians was nominated for three awards including Best Narrative. Senior creative director Jean-Francois Dugas acknowledged previous statements from Square Enix's Yosuke Matsuda, who said the game's sales underperformed, but said he and the rest of the team were proud of their work on the game, and they have "no regrets" about it. He went on to say he was happy to see the recent growth the game has had thanks to positive feedback and the game becoming available on Xbox Game Pass.
"What I love right now is that people, especially with Game Pass, are playing it, and they're sharing the experience," Senior narrative director Mary DeMarle told Eurogamer. "We make games to touch people, we make games to hit an audience. And it's great that it's finding its audience, and it's great that it keeps going forward."
The game's audience growth thanks, in part, to Xbox Game Pass is a perfect example of the potential power the platform has to grow a game's audience, even well past its initial release. As of January 2022, Game Pass has over 25 million subscribers enjoying a library of games that include day one Xbox exclusives, triple-A releases like Guardians of the Galaxy, and lesser-known indie titles that could pique a player's interest. It wouldn't be surprising to see other third-party studios in the future push for earlier access on Game Pass, seeking the kind of growth exemplified by Guardians.
Guardians of the Galaxy is currently available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Eurogamer