Marvel has a handful of games on the horizon featuring many of its most notable characters, starting with this year's Guardians of the Galaxy. Three other Marvel games have been announced that will follow Guardians: Midnight Suns, Spider-Man 2, and Wolverine. The last of those three, Wolverine, isn't expected for at least a few years, so there may be more Marvel games coming in the interim, but none others have been revealed just yet.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is expected to arrive on October 26, 2021 for PC, Xbox One and Series X/S, PlayStation 4 and 5, and the Nintendo Switch. Though it'll have the same Guardians in the team as the recent MCU films - Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Groot, and Rocket Raccoon - the game is putting its own unique spin on the characters, something it has in common with the other Marvel games coming after it.
Eidos-Montréal, known for the recent Deus Ex games and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, are developing Guardians of the Galaxy, with Square Enix as the publisher. It may not be directly tied to the MCU, but Eidos-Montréal seem to be taking cues from the big screen adaption which brought the ragtag team its more recent fame. Firaxis and Insomniac Games are also looking to take inspiration from existing works of screen and page with their coming Marvel games, though from rather disparate sources.
Upcoming Marvel Games - Midnight Suns
Not long after Guardians of the Galaxy drops, Midnight Suns looks set to pick up the Marvel single player torch and deliver a more tactical experience. Midnight Suns is coming to PC, Xbox One and Series X/S, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Nintendo Switch. It's planned for release in March 2022, but game delays are increasingly common in the days of the pandemic, so that is liable to change as the new year draws closer. Midnight Suns has a variety of playable characters, but the protagonist will be a brand new hero of the player's creation known as the Hunter. Players will create a custom hero to take the Hunter mantle and choose from a large selection of super powers.
Marvel's Midnight Suns is being developed by Firaxis Games, specialists in strategy titles of both large and small scales. Firaxis is best known for the Civilization and XCOM franchises, but has a long history of game development, especially for the Sid Meier's branding. Midnight Suns will likewise be a strategy game, though it's shaping up to be quite unique. The combat in Midnight Suns involves card-based gameplay, but the game as a whole will also include many roleplaying and social elements. While not actively engaged in a mission, players will occupy the Abbey, home base of the Midnight Suns, and control the Hunter as they walk around and converse with other Marvel heroes.
Upcoming Marvel Games - Spider-Man 2
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was also recently announced, and will come exclusively to the PlayStation 5. It's a direct sequel to the 2018 PS4 exclusive Spider-Man, and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, both of which launched cross-generationally in conjunction with the PS5. So far, the game only has a single trailer which teases Venom and Kraven the Hunter as the main antagonists. The first Spider-Man let players control multiple characters for different gameplay segments, and many are expecting Spider-Man 2 to put players in control of both Peter Parker and Miles Morales. The two show up side-by-side in the teaser trailer to tag team street thugs and stare down Venom in a dark alley.
Insomniac Games is in charge of development for Spider-Man 2. The studio created the previous two Spider-Man games, and its most recent project was Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Insomniac has worked closely with PlayStation for years, but was only brought into the fold as a first-party studio in 2019. Spider-Man and Miles Morales both had post-credit scenes pertinent to the upcoming sequel, setting up Harry Osborn as host of the Venom symbiote after he was subjected to it in an attempt by his father to save him from a terminal illness. More news on Spider-Man 2 isn't expected any time soon, and the game is currently scheduled for release in 2023. Just like the Midnight Suns release window, this could change in the interim, but Insomniac does have a reputation for speedy development.
Upcoming Marvel Games - Wolverine
The final game in the Marvel pipeline is Wolverine, teased with a cinematic trailer alongside Spider-Man 2 at the most recent PlayStation Showcase. Marvel's Wovlerine is also being developed by Insomniac games, a testament to how successful the studio's Spider-Man titles have been. It too is expected to be a PlayStation 5 exclusive, though it's even further away from release. Unlike Spider-Man 2, Wolverine wasn't given any sort of release window, so it's expected to be in a rather early state of development. 2024 is likely the earliest Marvel's Wolverine could launch, but anything beyond speculation will have to wait for an official word from Insomniac or Sony.
Details on Marvel's Wolverine are scarce. The teaser trailer offered little insight into story, gameplay, or even what Wolverine looks like. It's set in the same universe as Spider-Man 2, but it's unclear whether or not the two games will have any significant connections story-wise. Wolverine's first comic book appearance came in an issue of The Incredible Hulk, which was referenced in the Marvel's Wolverine reveal trailer, leading many to believe Hulk might make an appearance. The presence of adamantium claws seems to point to an experienced Wolverine in the game, which would be in line with how the studio handled the 2018 Spider-Man, but there's no saying for sure until more information becomes available.
Marvel has had unprecedented success with its cinematic universe over the course of the last decade, and while games featuring its comic book heroes have never been scarce, there's plenty to look forward to in the coming years. With its track record of two critically acclaimed Marvel games already, Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine are expected to deliver similarly impressive experiences. Midnight Suns is an unexpected team-up game from Firaxis, and the prospect of creating a brand new Marvel hero is more than enticing. All things considered, Marvel games are in a defining era, which will continue in its next offering, Guardians of the Galaxy.