Marvel's Avengers' Narrative Will Unravel Over Multiple Years

When Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics revealed Marvel's Avengers to the world last week, they pitched the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia game as a narrative-driven live-service experience, which is a bit ambiguous. That said, since the reveal, the pair have provided further clarification on what this means, and it's pretty simple: Marvel's Avenger's narrative will unravel over multiple years through multiple free content drops. In other words, if you want to see all the story content planned for the game, be ready to stick with it for awhile.

Speaking this week at E3, Crystal Dynamics' senior community manager Meagan Marie said that the game's world and story will expand years after release. Meanwhile, lead combat designer on the game, Vincent Napoli, added that it's indeed a live service title, but that it's so narrative-focused that it's completely its own thing. In other words, there's no game on the market to compare it to.

Now, there's plenty of live-service games with heavy narrative elements, such as Destiny and The Division, and really most live-service games that aren't PvP-focused. In other words, it's unclear how Marvel's Avengers is much different than these games other than maybe being more focused on story?

At the moment of publishing, neither Square Enix or Crystal Dynamics have clarified whether there will be a definitive ending to the base game, or whether players will need to stick with it for years in order to see the story wrap. I'm sure both are true to an extent. There's probably an ending to the base game that you can leave off on, but it will be continued with post-launch content drops, all of which will be free.

"Marvel's Avengers features a cinematic story, complete with the high-octane action that Crystal Dynamics is known for," writes Square Enix of the game. "Featuring regular content updates, the game will take players on an epic journey delivered over multiple years."

Marvel's Avengers will be available for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia when it launches on May 15, 2020. For more news, media, and information on the game, be sure to peep all of our previous and extensive coverage of the title by clicking right here.