Publisher Square Enix has said that Marvel’s Avengers was largely a “disappointing” project for the company. While Avengers continues to be supported by Square Enix and developer Crystal Dynamics, those in charge at the publisher haven’t minced words when it comes to their dissatisfaction with the game’s performance since launching last year.
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In a recent report released by Square Enix discussing the company’s previous fiscal year, president Yosuke Matsuda talked about Marvel’s Avengers and how it performed overall. While Matsuda acknowledged that 2020 was a difficult year to release a game in because of the pandemic, he also went on to say that Avengers never reached the highs that were expected. “We overcame a variety of unexpected difficulties in the final phase of the game’s development, including needing to transition to work-from-home due to the pandemic. We were able to surmount these challenges and release the game, but it has unfortunately not proven as successful as we would have liked,” Matsuda said.
Speaking more to why he believes this was the case, Matsuda said that the structure of Marvel’s Avengers, especially when it comes to baking in GaaS (Games as a Service) elements, didn’t do the project any favors. “Nonetheless, taking on the GaaS model highlighted issues that we are likely to face in future game development efforts such as the need to select game designs that mesh with the unique attributes and tastes of our studios and development teams,” he explained. “While the new challenge that we tackled with this title produced a disappointing outcome, we are certain that the GaaS approach will grow in importance as gaming becomes more service oriented.”
As mentioned, it’s important to note that Square Enix’s view of Marvel’s Avengers in this manner does date back to how it performed in the publisher’s previous fiscal year, which ended in March 2021. Whether or not Avengers has since turned a corner for the publisher with its many free updates and expansions currently isn’t know, but given that the project never took off the way that the company would have liked, it stands to reason that it will never end up reaching those initial expectations.
How do you feel about seeing Square Enix so blatantly talk about its disappointment with Marvel’s Avengers? Let me know your reaction either down in the comments or hit me up on Twitter at @MooreMan12.
