Marvel's Avengers Developer Expected Backlash From Marvel Fans

There was a monstrous amount of hype going into Marvel's Avengers E3 reveal. Not only because it was an Avengers game, but because it had a relatively promising developer behind it, Crystal Dynamics, best-known for the Tomb Raider reboot. However, this hype crashed, burned, blew up, and dug itself grave upon reveal. And not just because the game looked underwhelming, but because the messaging around it was vague. That said, according to the game's director, Shaun Escayg, he and the team at Crystal Dynamics knew backlash was coming their way. Speaking to this, Escayg compared the game's reveal with the reveal of the movies.

"When I got on it was still pretty early, they had sort of a framework, and my approach was finding the true struggles of each character, and how that pushes the story along, how that affects their ability to play, how that affects their ability to evolve," said Escayg while speaking to PlayStation Magazine. "This is 80 years of Marvel history to play with, and you know, a lot of people forget, but when the movies first came out, there was an uproar from fans. Like 'this is not how Iron Man speaks!' And now we face the same thing with the game. We kind of anticipated that."

Of course, over time, people really came around on the movies, but, as of right now, nobody has really come around on the game. In fact, many are putting it on flop watch. However, if it's good come launch, well that backlash and displeasure will quickly translate into fandom.

Marvel's Avengers is set to release on September 4, 2020 via the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia. At the moment of publishing, there's been no word of a Nintendo Switch port nor PS5 and Xbox Series X ports.

"Marvel's Avengers begins at A-Day, where Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Widow, and Thor are unveiling a hi-tech Avengers Headquarters in San Francisco — including the reveal of their own helicarrier powered by an experimental energy source," reads an official story pitch of the game. "The celebration turns deadly when a catastrophic accident results in massive devastation. Blamed for the tragedy, the Avengers disband. Five years later, with all Super Heroes outlawed and the world in peril, the only hope is to reassemble Earth's Mightiest Heroes."

H/T, Respawn First.