Today brought a lot of good news and content updates for Marvel's Avengers fans, as the game finally received some promised DLC, quality-of-life improvements, and next-gen upgrades for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Developer Crystal Dynamics also shared the 2021 content roadmap for the game, which includes a few new event updates over the course of the next few months like the Tachyon Anomaly and Wasteland Patrol. However, there was one notable omission from the roadmap that fans have been asking about for months now: the Spider-Man DLC.
The issue with Spider-Man DLC for Marvel's Avengers has always been its PlayStation exclusivity. When the original announcement broke that Spider-Man DLC would be for PlayStation players only, PC and Xbox fans felt left out. Crystal Dynamics studio head Scott Amos originally said the reason Spider-Man would be PlayStation exclusive was because of the "relationship that PlayStation and Marvel have," but it didn't stop some fans from voicing their frustrations. It has been a few months since, and although there seems to be no change on Spider-Man's exclusivity, Marvel's Avengers fans on PlayStation still eagerly await the web-slinger's arrival.
Unfortunately, the 2021 content roadmap doesn't help the Spider-Man situation in Marvel's Avengers, and Amos once again delivers some less than exciting news for fans. Amos confirmed that Spider-Man would probably not be arriving in Marvel's Avengers until sometime this summer at the earliest. He goes on to say that "officially, people are working on him right now," but he does not say where in the 2021 schedule Crystal Dynamics plans to fit him.
While summer is only a few months away, this development is a let down for those who were expecting Spider-Man to come soon. A leaked DLC list for Marvel's Avengers that surfaced online last month placed Spider-Man as the next hero in line to make it to the game after the Operation: Hawkeye Future-Imperfect DLC, but that probably won't be the case anymore. Amos said Spider-Man will not arrive before the newly announced Black Panther: War For Wakanda expansion, and War for Wakanda looks slated sometime in the summer or even later than that.
It's too early to say whether Spider-Man will arrive this summer or whether he will be pushed further, but Crystal Dynamics has to be careful with how it handles the situation. This new roadmap is certainly promising, and the Black Panther: War for Wakanda expansion should stir up some excitement for a massively popular hero. However, the downfall of Marvel's Avengers was its lack of content beyond the story and extended time between hero releases. A delay to the Spider-Man DLC once again could mirror that early issue and push fans away again.
Marvel's Avengers is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.