Characters from the Marvel and Capcom franchise will once again battle in the hugely successful Marvel vs Capcom franchise. If sources from Polygon prove to be true, gamers can expect Marvel vs Capcom 4 to be released sometime in 2017. Although there is currently no official statement from Capcom, sources tell that the game will be announced this week alongside Sony's Playstation Experience where the Capcom Cup 2016 for Street Fighter 5 will be held.
Gamers can expect Marvel vs Capcom 4 to feature characters from the popular Marvel Cinematic Universe that Marvel has complete control over the past decade. This means that fans can play as characters from the Avengers such as Iron Man, Captain America, Thor among other. They will be joined with the newly introduced superheroes in Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant Man and Doctor Strange. However, characters from the X-men franchise are not expected to return.
The absence of X-men heroes will be huge departure for Capcom who has been making X-men games since 1994. The issue stems from the current contracts of Marvel and Capcom and will most likely affect Marvel vs Capcom 4.
Capcom's contract with Marvel expired in 2013. Since then Capcom has ceased its involvement with the Marvel vs Capcom franchise. Games from the franchise and their downloadable content were pulled from Microsoft and Sony's stores. Marvel also has their contract issues with the X-men franchise. Fox now has the rights for the X-men universe. This would definitely have implications on Marvel vs Capcom 4.
In its last game of the franchise, Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds in 2011, X-men characters are part of the roster including mainstays such as Wolverine, Magneto and Phoenix. The Marvel vs Capcom series has been a fixture for the annual Evo fighting game tournament. If ever Marvel vs Capcom 4 pushes through, expect it to follow suit.
If the absence of X-men characters for Marvel vs Capcom 4 proves to be true, some professional players will definitely have a problem. Some X-men characters like Wolverine have been part of the series since the first game and players who primarily use Wolverine as their main character will have no choice but to choose a different hero. This could mean countless of hours of practice to master a new character. But then again, maybe players can get to play as Rocket Racoon. Now who wouldn't want to play as a Racoon and beat up the Hulk? That's definitely a scenario fans will be excited for.