Update: Leaker 6plus4equals52 has provided Game Rant with additional persuasive evidence supporting the veracity of the leak. The datamined info is shown to be part of the Marvel's Avengers beta API, though the nature of the War Machine, Kate Bishop, and She-Hulk Hero Cards remains unclear.
The ongoing Marvel's Avengers beta on PS4 continues to be a success. But while many are excitedly exploring what's available of Marvel's Avengers right now, others are more curious about what's to come. Dataminers are digging through the Marvel's Avengers beta looking for interesting details. And if one claimed dataminer is to be believed, several new Marvel's Avengers heroes may have just been revealed early.
Reddit user 6plus4equals52, a new Reddit account and thus also an unverified source, posted their datamined discovery on Saturday. They claimed that they found the info through tracing Marvel's Avengers' network data. The code linked lists several known playable heroes including Hulk, Iron Man, Hawkeye, and more. It also lists three unannounced heroes in War Machine, Kate Bishop, and She-Hulk.
One thing worth acknowledging up front is that the code also refers to in-game items called Hero Cards. Exactly what Hero Cards are isn't clear. It could refer to something substantial or something cursory. In other words, it may not imply a playable character but could refer to something else. That said, the list of War Machine, Kate Bishop, and She-Hulk seems more than possible to be playable in Marvel's Avengers for one very good reason.
Fighting game fans will likely be familiar with a concept called clone fighters. In the Super Smash Bros. franchise, for example, the characters Link, Young Link, and Toon Link are clones of each other. That means they have remarkably similar movesets, with some altered properties. Ryu and Ken from the Street Fighter franchise were also originally clones of each other. War Machine, Kate Bishop, and She-Hulk would make for perfect additions to Marvel's Avengers as clones.
War Machine is effectively an alternate take on Iron Man, Kate Bishop is Hawkeye, and She-Hulk is one of many Hulks. It would be relatively simple to clone the original characters' move-sets for these new characters, or at least easier than creating entirely new characters. It also would open the door to many more, considering how many Marvel superheroes are derivative of those who came before them.
That's not to say that any of this is accurate, however. Considering that the source is anonymous and that their datamined information has not been verified, it could all easily have been faked. Until Marvel's Avengers confirms that these superheroes are coming to the game, it's best to remain skeptical. Until Crystal Dynamics shows that it's considering offering clones for some of its heroes, it's not a confirmed feature. Still, it makes a lot of sense.
Marvel's Avengers releases September 4 on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions also in development.