Information leaked by data miners who have examined the code from early builds of Marvel's Avengers could indicate that Black Panther will be one of the first post-launch DLC characters. The action-adventure title is set to release on September 4, with next-gen versions following later in the year when the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are available in stores.
Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics both announced that a new post-launch hero would be revealed at some point this week. Over the course of the last few weeks, various leaks have suggested that many additional characters will be available as DLC following the release of Marvel's Avengers. This is on top of the already confirmed heroes like Hawkeye and Spider-Man, who'll be exclusive to the PlayStation family of consoles.
A group of data miners has discovered lots of key information from early access builds of Marvel's Avengers. YouTube channel Sanders Presents has collected the details from the game's code in a video, suggesting that plenty of additional heroes could be making their way to the upcoming title after it launches this month. Chief among them is Black Panther, who is mentioned many times in the leaked data alongside the fictional African nation of Wakanda. References are also made to Klaw, a popular villain for the Black Panther in the comics.
Other key leaks indicate that heroes like Captain Marvel and Ant-Man might appear soon after release as well, while there could also be a system similar to Super Smash Bros. echo characters. This would make characters that are very similar play in the same way with minor changes, such as with Hulk and She-Hulk. But it is the Black Panther news that will likely excite fans the most.
Despite a rocky reveal, Marvel's Avengers has become one of the year's most highly anticipated titles. Although it is set in an alternate reality to the MCU, the success of the movie franchise has helped to create a huge amount of momentum for the upcoming game. This is most clear from the fact that more than 5 million players downloaded the recent beta for Marvel's Avengers, putting in almost 30 million hours of playtime over three weekends.
The fact that Black Panther is coming to Marvel's Avengers makes sense. The character is one of the most popular heroes in the Marvel universe and had a leading role in the recent MCU movies. However, the future of the character is uncertain following the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman last week. Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix might well switch up the schedule to avoid being insensitive at such a sad time. But some fans might consider it a fitting tribute to the actor to have Black Panther included in the game as planned.
Marvel's Avengers will be available on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia on September 4, 2020, and it will launch on Xbox Series X in November 2020 and on PS5 in Q4 2020.
Source: Sanders Presents