It's been five years since a new Marvel vs. Capcom title was released, and it will seemingly take much longer for the next one — Marvel vs. Capcom 4 — to happen.
Fans of the series have long anticipated a sequel to Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which was released in 2011. Unfortunately, a Marvel vs. Capcom 3 developer has confirmed via Twitter that a new entry in the series is currently not in development.
Thanks for keeping the love for the game going! I would love to make #mvc4, but nothing's happening on that front. RT @PG_Erdogan @JWonggg N
— Ryota Niitsuma (@Ryota_Niitsuma) September 27, 2016
No Marvel vs. Capcom 4
Ryota Niitsuma, the producer in question, expressed his gratitude to fans for their dedication and enthusiasm for a possible sequel for the highly popular crossover combat game.
According to Niitsuma, he would be pleased if a new title was in fact slated to be released, but he confirmed that there's nothing currently in development with regard to a Marvel vs. Capcom 3 sequel. Niitsuma's confirmation sees rumors of a Marvel vs. Capcom 3 sequel reveal during this year's PlayStation Experience squashed.
To infer from Marvel vs. Capcom's release pattern, fans shouldn't expect a sequel any time soon. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and its sequel, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 were separated by 11 years, an unusually long stretch of development for a sequel. Sure, the time delay owed much to the shift from 2D graphics to 3D, but gamers know well that technical changes don't require more than a decade to accomplish and fine-tune.
Problems In Licensing?
Marvel vs. Capcom, for the uninitiated, is a game that features a roster of cameo appearances from Marvel and Capcom franchises. The number of characters that appear in the game obviously require a great and complex deal of licensing, and not many gamers know the difficulty associated with licensing these proprietary characters to be used as elements for a game.
In the silver screen, Marvel is considered a juggernaut, raking in lofty profits from its film franchise with the onslaught of live-action adaptations of late. It's possible that because of Marvel's success in other fronts and its ballooning popularity, acquiring licenses for its characters have become more painstakingly difficult.
That said, licensing Marvel characters isn't entirely impossible. In fact, Telltale Games is currently working on a Guardians of the Galaxy game slated for a 2017 release, so maybe there's still a chance fans could see a Marvel vs. Capcom 3 sequel.
Meanwhile, fans of fighting titles may turn to the hefty roster of excellent fighting games such as Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Mortal Kombat X, Tekken 7 or Injustice: Gods Among Us in light of the Marvel vs. Capcom drought.
