Crystal Dynamics has announced that a new roadmap for Marvel's Avengers can be expected in early 2022, which should bring new characters to the game's roster. Crystal has revealed that, after a well-deserved holiday break, its team will be hard at work on new content for Marvel's Avengers over the coming year. While little is known about what said content may contain, there is already evidence pointing to certain future hero inclusions.
Marvel's Avengers, now in its second year of its games-as-service model, received mixed reviews in its initial release, and might not have been the game fans wanted in 2020. One year later, Crystal Dynamics has released three major DLC updates, called "operations," that have brought four new playable heroes to the game (on PlayStation consoles; three heroes everywhere else). These operations have been the saving grace of Marvel's Avengers, giving players entertaining new story missions while keeping things fresh with new characters to play.
As the game faces its second year, it will need more operations, with both new characters and story missions, to keep new and returning players. Marvel's Avengers recently hosted the Spider-Man Hero Event, which incorporated Peter Parker into the game for PlayStation players, but received backlash online for not including any new story missions. Though the gameplay for the character certainly met player expectations, the lack of new playable missions left some wanting more. To keep from losing an already waning player base, more content is required.
War Machine, She-Hulk, And Bucky Could Join Marvel's Avengers
Datamining of game files has been a valued resource of video game news and speculation for years. Combing through millions of lines of computer code to find keywords hinting at future updates has already yielded results for fans of Marvel's Avengers, to varying degrees. A datamine earlier this year has proven particularly successful in guessing several of the game's character releases before they were announced. As 2022 approaches, fans can compare that with the Marvel Cinematic Universe for hints of what is to come in Marvel's Avengers.
A post from a reliable dataminer, Miller, has leaked a plan for seven new Marvel's Avengers characters. Three of those characters have been released: Clint Barton, Peter Parker, and King T'Challa, lending real credibility to his original post. That leaves four potential new characters: Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk), Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier), Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel), and James Rhodes (War Machine). Each of these heroes could bring their own unique value to Marvel's Avengers, through both narrative connections and gameplay mechanics.
In the Marvel comics, Jennifer Walters is a prominent lawyer and Bruce Banner's cousin. After an accident requiring a life-saving blood transfusion from Bruce, she becomes She-Hulk, with similar but unique powers to the Hulk. Just as Marvel's Avengers' two Hawkeyes, Kate Bishop and Clint Barton, display unique personalities in their gameplay despite sharing a similar play style, Jennifer Walters and Hulk could share smaller elements of their gameplay (thrown boulders, Rage meters) while giving She-Hulk her own stand-out moves.
Bucky Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier, has shared the spotlight in five MCU feature films and a Disney+ series, after decades of adventures in the comics as Captain America's friend-turned-enemy-turned-friend. Barnes' connection with Steve Rodgers could be the springboard for his inclusion in a Winter Soldier-themed operation, possibly in the Snowy Tundra (an environment only utilized in two campaign missions), along with his own iconic skins. As a soldier like Captain America, his gameplay could mix heavy attacks with skilled gunplay, like Marvel's Avengers' Black Widow.
Carol Danvers is Captain Marvel, perhaps best known for head-butting Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. Captain Marvel is a source of inspiration for Ms. Marvel, the main protagonist in Marvel's Avengers' campaign missions. It would be deeply meaningful for Ms. Marvel to meet her hero in a new operation, while introducing another fun playable character to the game. Captain Marvel could be another powerful flying character (crucial to traversal and Raid mechanics) and could even expand gameplay into space missions.
James Rhodes, the man behind War Machine and one of Tony Stark's best friends, has been one of the most often-cited potential playable DLC characters for Marvel's Avengers. This is certainly within reason; his inclusion could be as simple as an Iron Man re-skin, with some heavier bells and whistles (rockets and machine guns) mounted on those broad shoulders and a unique ultimate ability. In Miller's multiple datamining expeditions, War Machine was always included, making him a shoo-in for his own operation.
Marvel's Avengers Could Add Doctor Strange In 2022
Marvel's Avengers has held special tie-in events concurrent with the release of MCU media projects in the past. The Red Room Takeover, a Black Widow-themed event, was introduced to welcome the release of the Marvel movie Black Widow during the summer, alongside movie-accurate in-game skins. An exclusive Hawkeye nameplate was released, only earnable by playing missions with Kate Bishop and Clint Barton, to celebrate the release of the Hawkeye streaming series. Even Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy received an Avengers nameplate before its launch. 2022 will be a big year for the MCU, and Marvel's Avengers has some interesting tie-in opportunities ahead.
Though Doctor Strange was not included in any datamined leaks, his inclusion could bring something completely new and refreshing to Marvel's Avengers. The Sorcerer Supreme could be unlike any previous characters, casting spells and granting gameplay buffs in a support role. The Darkhold, a mystical book with nefarious origins in the Marvel comics, is already an in-game artifact, and will factor prominently in the plot of the upcoming film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Because it is the next upcoming MCU feature, it gives Crystal Dynamics a tantalizing character opportunity. Plus, his inclusion would provide the opportunity for Marvel's Avengers to add more MCU costumes.
Ms. Marvel, an upcoming streaming series on Disney+, will explore a new origin story for Kamala Khan and could be the perfect time to release a Captain Marvel operation. Viewers of the series will get a fresh look at the main character of Marvel's Avengers, and may be swayed into playing the game through cross-marketed DLC. Current players could also benefit from new official MCU skins for Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel, in addition to a fun, new playable character. Either way, the public will have to wait until this summer to see the series or its potential tie-in.
Marvel's Avengers Character DLC - Moon Knight And She-Hulk
Moon Knight will continue the MCU story, in another streaming series on Disney+ starring Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector. There isn't much to go on beyond a teaser trailer for the series, but it does present another lucrative opportunity for Crystal Dynamics to further improve Marvel's Avengers next year. Throw in another premium MCU skin and a full-blown operation, and Moon Knight could become the next Avenger.
She-Hulk, also coming to Disney+ next year, will feature Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters. The series currently has no official release date, but has been confirmed for a 2022 release. Timed well, a new Jennifer Walters operation could launch with the series. Since Jennifer Walters is a lawyer, her inclusion also has the potential to change the narrative direction of Marvel's Avengers, in addition to new gameplay and skins.
Crystal Dynamics is heading into 2022 on a high note for Marvel's Avengers. The War for Wakanda expansion created one of the best in-game depictions of Wakanda yet, the Klaw raid has proven itself a worthy endgame challenge, and PlayStation players are thwipping about the Spider-Man hero event (for better or worse). With so many crossover potentials and a commitment to more high-quality content releases, it is clear that Crystal Dynamics has more in store for Marvel's Avengers.