Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will establish its own unique universe, according to developer Eidos-Montréal. This might be surprising news for some fans, who likely assumed the new game would neatly fit into Marvel’s Avengers’ canon. The cosmic superhero game was revealed at the Square Enix Presents E3 2021 showcase, detailing a choice-based narrative and showing-off a large chunk of gameplay. The game is mostly inspired by Guardians of the Galaxy comic books, with the characters’ appearances translating directly from the pages of the comics.
Aside from detailing Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Square Enix also provided updates on Marvel’s Avengers, which will receive several content drops in the coming months. While the Cosmic Cube event and the Wasteland Patrol were briefly discussed, a new in-engine trailer for Black Panther’s War for Wakanda expansion was the highlight for the game. Wakanda, Ulysses Klaw, and Black Panther’s outfit were all shown-off, and the expansion will arrive in August. When Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy was announced in the same livestream, fans likely thought that Marvel’s space-faring adventure would fit into the universe established by Marvel’s Avengers. However, it appears that these Guardians won’t make an appearance in Marvel’s Avengers or any other Marvel game.
In a response to Twitter user VaintLord, GOTGTheGame, the Twitter account for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, confirmed that the upcoming game will take place in its own universe. Asked whether the game would be connected to Marvel’s Avengers, the account responded: “No, this is a completely original story with our own fresh take on the Guardians.”
With such a definitive response, it seems unlikely that Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will connect to any universe set up by Marvel’s other games, aside from small nods like skins or other cosmetic items. Unlike films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel’s video games usually take place in their own canon. Spider-Man from Marvel’s Spider-Man remains locked in his own franchise, so his incarnation will exist separately from the planned addition of Spider-Man in Marvel’s Avengers. With this in mind, players now have the expectation that characters like Star-Lord probably won’t appear in other Marvel games.
The details regarding Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy seemingly paint the game in a much different light than Marvel’s Avengers, which established itself as a multiplayer-focused game with live-service elements. Perhaps Square Enix decided to create a new universe for the upcoming game in an effort to distance the games from each other. After all, both games approach the comic genre quite differently. Aside from providing a single-player only experience, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy won’t include microtransactions, which are heavily present in Marvel’s Avengers to the dismay of many fans. A new universe likely gives Eidos-Montréal more flexibility in its storytelling, though an interconnected universe seems like a missed opportunity for Marvel’s games.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy comes to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on October 26.