Saying that Marvel’s Avengers had a disappointing launch is an understatement. While the singleplayer campaign was solid, the co-op portion of the game was full of repetitive missions, poor enemy variety, and numerous performance issues. Fortunately, Marvel’s Avengers turned it around in 2021, slowly but surely righting the ship to make for a solid games-as-a-service title.

From Marvel’s Avengers’ earnable cosmetics and premium MCU skins to quality boss fights and the game’s first raid, the game added many things that players were hoping to see on launch day. The War for Wakanda expansion was a huge step in the right direction, too, allowing players to explore a unique region and fight enemies that differed significantly from the AIM bots. In 2022, Marvel’s Avengers fans can expect a similar approach to content, with the game slowly expanding to include more heroes, villains, and missions.

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Marvel’s Avengers Roadmap for Early 2022

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Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that the 2022 roadmap for Marvel’s Avengers will be coming early this year. Sometime in the next few months, players will get an in-depth look at everything coming to the game. Based on the past roadmaps, it is easy to determine the format and content that this year’s roadmap is going to take.

Marvel’s Avengers players should see several sections in the new roadmap, with each focusing on a specific bit of content. Operations for new heroes will likely be seen, with events like the Red Room Takeover coming in between them. A section will surely be dedicated to the delayed Patrol mode, a piece of content that will let players explore the Wasteland freely, looting the post-apocalyptic area and completing objectives for as long as they wish. Cloning Labs, another delayed piece of content focused on teamwork and puzzle-solving, could take up its own section as well.

With War for Wakanda adding Marvel’s Avengers’ first raid, and the community pleased to finally have some truly challenging endgame content, it would make sense to see another raid included on the roadmap as well. This could serve as the finale for another expansion like War for Wakanda, and assuming that the same pattern is followed for the next major roadmap, an expansion could come in late 2022. Alongside these specific sections of content, a box on the bottom of the roadmap will likely be included that shows “in progress” content with no release window. More MCU suits, a gear rework, and balancing updates could be listed here.

Marvel’s Avengers Leaked and Possible Characters

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Marvel’s Avengers fans also have a good idea of which heroes can be expected in 2022, with the character that is most likely to come to the game next being She-Hulk. Not only has She-Hulk been in the game’s files for a long time now, but a leaker recently revealed the voice actor that will be playing her. The actor in question, Krizia Bajos, reacted with a green heart emoji - all-but-confirming that she will play Jennifer Walters. She-Hulk will likely get her own story Operation with new cutscenes, missions, and a boss fight, and it would make sense if she was the first hero added in 2022.

The hero that will likely release after She-Hulk is Winter Soldier. Revealed as part of the same leak that included heroes like She-Hulk, there have since been several audio files released that feature characters talking directly to Bucky Barnes. While the dialogue has not yet been recorded for the Winter Soldier, the fact that the other actors have recorded their lines indicates that he is coming sooner rather than later. He will likely release after She-Hulk, coming sometime in the middle of the year. Given the character’s deep ties to Hydra, it would not be shocking if his content introduced the group as an enemy faction, with a character like Red Skull serving as his boss battle.

The two other characters with the most files in the game are War Machine and Captain Marvel. Considering that they are romantically involved in the comics, it would make sense if they had a two-part Operation that plays on their bond, similar to Kate Bishop and Clint Barton’s DLCs. Captain Marvel’s deep ties to the Kree mean that she will likely be the last character added in 2022, as the game’s ongoing story has been focused on the Kree destroying earth. With Carol Danvers also being the most high-profile hero leaked for the game thus far, it makes sense for her to come to the game after War Machine and near the end of the year. Given Captain Marvel’s potential as a cosmic hero, there is also a chance she gets a War for Wakanda-sized expansion whenever she arrives.

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Square Enix Presents Content for Marvel’s Avengers

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In 2021, Square Enix held a few Square Enix Presents events that provided detailed looks at some of its games. Marvel’s Avengers was present at both the Spring and Summer shows, and if such events are held in 2022, the game will likely make its presence known once again. Its first Square Enix Presents showing focused on Hawkeye’s Future Imperfect Operation, while the second looked at the War for Wakanda expansion and revealed the game’s first roadmap.

Whenever the next Square Enix showcase takes place, Marvel’s Avengers fans can expect to see some footage of whichever hero is coming to the game next. If such an event happens early in 2021, then fans could get a look at She-Hulk or Winter Soldier. If it comes later, War Machine or Captain Marvel could steal the spotlight. Other content could be showcased as well, such as a new raid - and Crystal Dynamics has the perfect villain for such a mission.

Whether the next raid is added on its own or as part of a full expansion for the game, Marvel’s Avengers players could end up battling Ultron. Hank Pym’s robot Roy has been heavily implied to be an Ultron prototype on several occasions, with the latest tease seeing the robot interact with the Cosmic Cube. If Roy does transform into Ultron, this would be worth showing at a Square Enix Presents event, as the debut of an iconic villain would surely get people excited about Marvel’s Avengers. While this is purely speculation, Crystal Dynamics has gone out of the way to set up Ultron, and it has also referred to Discordant Sound as the game’s “first” raid. As such, both a new raid and Ultron’s debut are likely coming in 2022, and the two coming together for one exciting piece of content is a genuine possibility.

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

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