Fans should not expect a Marvel video game inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe anytime soon. According to Head of Marvel Games Jay Ong, they are actually moving away from the film iterations.
Marvel and Activision have worked for several years, with the latter having been the rights holder of several "Spider-Man" games. Ong said that they still have a great relationship with Activision, but the future of the Spider-Man console games, in particular, is now with Sony and Insomniac. As far as Spider-Man is concerned, Activision is already in the past.
VentureBeat reported that according to Ong, their new approach to Marvel characters in video games will not be to link with upcoming films, but to attempt to create a unique plot and environment where their characters will develop well in. He continued that potential partners are attracted with their pitch that they are not merely building a movie game but have more freedom.
They also start projects much earlier than before. Beginning with the upcoming Spider-Man, which will be exclusive to PlayStation 4, future Marvel characters are expected to have the same treatment in video games.
SlashFilm wrote that "Spider-Man 2" in 2004 is the only noteworthy Marvel game that the division and Activision worked on. It served as a movie tie-in game as well as a great sandbox where players get to explore New York City via web-slinging.
One of the main issues before was probably compelling the game creators to take after the movie. Now that there are more freedom and creativity allowed, there is great potential in feature excellent Marvel games with rich content again. It also means that players do not have to expect the alter ego of their favorite characters to look like actors Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland, Chris Evans, and the like.
Ong also said that his team and Marvel senior executives created a brand new strategy to be very selective and only partner with the best game companies in the world. They only wanted to collaborate with firms that shared their vision and ambition, and have the ability to deliver a brand new era for the Marvel games business.
Ong mentioned that part of their strategy is also to have a relatively diversified portfolio that appeals to multiple tastes and audiences. He explained that he learned how the Marvel movies successfully captured the human aspects and humor of the superheroes and translated these into the medium.
Perhaps Marvel will also use the same approach in their future games although the characters and storyline may be different from the films.
