Since its beginnings in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken the film industry by storm. Causing mass excitement and some critical hesitation among veteran filmmakers, the studio has become one of the biggest entities in the industry. In the realm of video games, the company has been slowly but surely making a name for itself. With a smattering of games releasing over the course of the last generation of home consoles, become clear that Marvel is making waves in a space that's been dominated by the likes of Rocksteady's Arkham trilogy for so very long.
From Insomniac's Spider-Man to the recent information surrounding the upcoming Midnight Suns project, Marvel is finding its footing in gaming. This is not without some stumbles, though, as Crystal Dynamics' attempt at an Avengers title has been wielding mixed reviews since it released in the Summer of 2020. With such an iconic cast of comic characters being associated with a bland and unpolished game, it raises questions about the possibility of a Marvel gaming universe not unlike the one found on the silver screen. The components are there, but there's still work to do if the company wants to take over the games space.
Marvel's Avengers Laid The (Uneven) Groundwork
For all its faults, Marvel's Avengers is a decent attempt at packing so many huge names into one release. Crafting a game that houses functioning gameplay for both the heavy and ham-fisted Hulk and the small, agile, and fast-paced Spider-Man was always going to be a huge ask, and while it had significant flaws, Marvel's Avengers did just enough to keep a small-yet-dedicated fanbase. Its future may be uncertain following Embracer Group's purchase of the developer, which may be the perfect opportunity to regroup and reemerge with a new game that truly shows off the potential of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
Marvel's Avengers could (and probably should) have been the first significant step to a gaming universe. While Spider-Man and its Miles Morales sequel were each superb, the thought of experiencing an Avengers-centric role-playing brawler that keeps fans coming back with healthy and hearty post-launch support was too good to be true. It hurt the property's chances of breaking into the gaming market rather than helped it along the way, and so before Marvel can even consider a gaming universe, it first has to figure out how to rectify the mediocrity of Marvel's Avengers.
Insomniac Could Be the Key
Despite committing to a full sequel to its 2018 Spider-Man title after the spin-off journey with Miles Morales, Insomniac Games also announced that it's working on a Wolverine project that's confirmed for PS5. Expectations are high for the game as Spider-Man received strong critical acclaim as well as Ratchet and Clank's debut outing on the PS5 also wielding strong review scores. The company is on a roll, and its association with Marvel may set in motion a longstanding relationship that could do well to establish a wider universe in the gaming sphere.
Spider-Man does well to acknowledge the MCU with its alternate costumes, which could even provoke a subtle crossover between mediums. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order showed that games can be integrated into a property's wider lore, and so with Marvel perhaps having even more success in film than Star Wars, the possibilities are endless. Insomniac is, at the very least, showcasing that it has the capability and the bravery to balance multiple Marvel projects and two completely different characters. Its success with the comics titan could be a huge sign of things to come, with its previous works perhaps being a more suitable beginning for a Marvel gaming universe than the aforementioned Marvel's Avengers.
The Looming Threat of DC
While Marvel is making headway into the video game market, DC has been in it for years. With games like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham providing fun for all ages, its hold on the medium has been strong. With Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League leading the DC charge for 2022 and beyond, there's no better time for Marvel to put emphasis on a gaming universe. DC-owned games and series have been largely separate from one another, so placing all Marvel games under one giant umbrella would, at the very least, offer a change of pace.
Many fans of DC would insist that its games succeed specifically because they all offer something different and aren't beholden to any kind of continuity, but Marvel's Cinematic Universe has proven that innovation can occur while also maintaining a consistent lore. To mimic DC's games with Marvel characters would be smart, as it has found success for years, but in order to truly set itself apart a universe could be a suitable course of action. It's an untapped market, and with Marvel's business-driven philosophy it may be possible for it to fill the gap.
Marvel Gaming Universe: Will It Happen?
Marvel characters and stories seem to be appearing in all corners of entertainment. In 2022 where most properties feel the need to establish a wider universe for entries to fall into, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Marvel commit to a similar format in gaming. Its cinematic universe continues to flourish even all these years after it started, so transferring a similar philosophy to games wouldn't be a huge stretch. MCU projects like Ms. Marvel are continuing to evolve their commentary and storytelling, and with both also being essential components of plenty of video games, anything could happen.
That said, games are a whole different beast to cinema. In the AAA space a single title can take years to develop, and it's increasingly harder to impress fans as the bar keeps getting raised higher by other industry professionals and companies. Whereas the three Thor films were made and released within six years, that's simply not enough time to create a new trilogy of high-budget games from scratch. The resources needed to recreate the magic of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in gaming would be limitless, but if any company could pull it off, it would be Disney.