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Microsoft is rumored to be trying to re-license many of its classic games for Xbox consoles, most notably Deadpool and Marvel Ultimate Alliance.
The situation comes as for years, Activision published some of the very best video games that feature Marvel characters. However, those licenses have already long expired and left many classic titles unplayable for the most part.
Microsoft's Potential Re-Licensing of Classics
Fortunately, there are rumors that this could change sometime in the future following comments from Xbox Era podcast co-host "Shpeshal" Nick Baker. He reported on a rumor that Xbox is supposedly trying to work with Marvel in order to give these games backward compatibility.
While the community should take these rumors with a grain of salt, they do make sense following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which happened last year, according to ComicBook.
The original Marvel Ultimate Alliance game was released in 2006 and later had a digital re-release in 2016 for PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One. However, the game was then delisted only two years later.
On the other hand, Deadpool was launched in 2013 and later went to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2015. Similarly, that particular game was delisted in 2016 but physical copies were offered, which made it maintain its playability on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
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It was also noted that the potential re-licensing could later result in other Marvel titles being brought back to the Xbox. There have been other talks in the past that suggest other Activision games are also stuck with licensing issues, said CBR.
Now, a renewed partnership between Marvel and Xbox could see those particular games being re-released as well. These titles include X-Men: Origins: Wolverine and Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.
The Hype of Deadpool and Wolverine
However, Insomniac Games' Wolverine game may be much more difficult to re-license for Microsoft compared to other titles. This is because of Marvel's ties with Sony and Insomniac Games.
It doesn't seem like Marvel is only exclusively working with Sony when it comes to video games, which could be good news to some fans of certain games. Recently, there was an Xbox advertising campaign that gave fans a chance to win special Deadpool and Wolverine-themed Xbox controllers.
The rumors of the potential re-licensing come as there is increased hype for the games, particularly Deadpool.
Furthermore, there has been a major jump in price on the secondhand market where the Xbox One port of Deadpool went as low as $30 last November but will now cost you $96, according to The Gamer.
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