Although both games are published by Square Enix, Marvel’s Avengers and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy are two entirely different games. The former is a live-service game, whereas the latter is a single-player story. Both games have their strengths and weaknesses in their own right, but there’s no strong connection between the two in terms of gameplay, story, etc.
However, it could be that—as a result of the multi-game, multi-year Marvel and Square Enix deal established back in 2017—these two titles are part of a Marvel Gaming Universe that has yet to be fully fleshed out yet. There’s a strong case for this too, in how the Avengers are utilized in GOTG. Of course, this means the following will discuss SPOILERS, however minor, for Guardians of the Galaxy, so until fans beat the game, they should hold off on going down this rabbit hole.
The Guardians of The Galaxy’s Connection With Marvel’s Avengers
Throughout the story of Guardians of the Galaxy, the Avengers will actually be referenced a few times. When traveling across space thanks to Cosmo, for example, players are able to experience and hear from realities that don’t exist, places that are far away, and so on. This is the first big reference, as traveling through this area (as seen below) results in hearing The Hulk yell “Hulk Smash” and Captain America give his iconic “Avengers, assemble!” line. Star-Lord will laugh about the name of the heroes, but that’s about all that comes from it.
Even to a go a little deeper, further into this scene, Spider-Man is even referenced—even if he’s a bit more obscured. His name is shouted, and it could be that, if players accept the referenced Avengers as the other Square Enix title, this could be alluding to Spider-Man joining Marvel’s Avengers there.
This is the big reference, but it’s not the only one. Later on in the game, when considering potential allies in the coming fight, Gamora will suggest calling upon the Avengers. Peter Quill will suggest that Earth is still too far behind, but that could hint at a future team-up in a future game. Another comes in the form of the Kree sentry head players come across at one point in GOTG.
It looks a lot like the one Kamala Khan defeats in Marvel’s Avengers, and while there’s no direct connection, the similarities could play on a connected universe. The explanation for the similarities could also be more simple than that, but a potential connection would be the best way to explain it too. As such, while all of these remain as Easter eggs and references for now, it’s worth wondering if there’s more behind-the-scenes work being done at Square Enix and Marvel.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.