Marvel’s Avengers developer Crystal Dynamics says it has updates planned for the game that should bring lapsed players back. After launching just over a month ago, Marvel’s Avengers has already seen its concurrent player count plummet from a peak of 28,000 to under 2,000 on Steam. The game’s community seems pessimistic about its future, with members of its subreddit posting that they’re quitting the game for good, or at least planning to.
Despite being based on one of the biggest pop culture franchises in the world, Marvel’s Avengers got off to a rough start. Even before the game’s launch, it drew criticism for its character models, lackluster showings in previews, and console-exclusive bonuses. Once it was actually in people’s hands, things didn’t look any better. Marvel’s Avengers launched in poor shape, with widespread game-breaking bugs and performance problems. Even reviewers who generally liked the singleplayer campaign found little to praise in the game’s multiplayer mode - a bad sign for a new live service game.
Now, Crystal Dynamics says it’s working on new content updates that will see players on all platforms head back to the game. In a statement to Kotaku, Crystal Dynamics studio head Scot Amos said that the team will be adding new missions, including an entirely new mission type and endgame content, complete with their own high-level rewards. He also mentioned the upcoming addition of missions featuring Kate Bishop and Clint Barton, which promise to continue the game’s story and introduce new villains. After that, there are no specifics on what will be coming next, but Amos says that Crystal Dynamics will continue to bring content to the game as it fixes its remaining issues. Amos says that more details on forthcoming content updates will be published in a blog post next week and that future communication from the developer will be clearer.
Amos’ statement seems full of confidence that Crystal Dynamics’ upcoming additions will renew players’ interest in Marvel’s Avengers, but the lack of any solid release date and very few specifics of what’s next for the game may still give players pause. Up to this point, updates to Marvel’s Avengers have largely been focused on fixing its overwhelming amount of bugs, seemingly leaving little time to add new content and actually keep fans around.
As a live service game, Marvel’s Avengers is a constantly evolving game by design. Naturally, there will be times when content is thin, but one of those times coming immediately after its release isn’t a good sign. Next week’s update may bring a reason to come back to Marvel’s Avengers, though for some players, it’s probably already too little too late.
Marvel's Avengers is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Source: Kotaku