Developers working on Marvel video games will not be forced to have the stories of the titles follow the events within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The information comes as good news for the four known Marvel video games in development, as it shows that Marvel has learned from mistakes that it has made in the past.
Marvel Video Games Separate From MCU
At DICE 2017, Marvel Games Creative Director Bill Rosemann told IGN that the teams behind the Marvel video games currently in development are being given the chance "to create new visions of beloved characters."
According to Rosemann, Marvel's video game developer partners are being given the freedom to tell their own original stories and to choose from the vast Marvel history on what their stories will be about.
"It's a bit like we're saying, 'Hey you're the chef, you're going to make this meal. Here's all of the ingredients. You pick the ingredients that you like and make a new meal,'" said Rosemann.
Is This A Good Move For Marvel?
Allowing Marvel video game developers to tell original stories outside of the MCU will feel very different, especially to fans who have become used to how the several Marvel movies are interconnected in some way.
However, the move can be considered a good one for Marvel, as it looks to create a bigger presence in the video game industry.
The four Marvel video games currently in development are the PlayStation 4 exclusive Spider-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, and The Avengers Project. All of these titles feature characters that are a big part of the current state of the MCU, but the games are now known to be not connected to the movies. One example that Rosemann cited is the white spider logo seen on the webslinger's costumer for the upcoming Spider-Man game, which is said to be deliberately done to distance it from the Spider-Man: Homecoming movie.
Marvel, while mostly more successful than rival DC in the movie industry, has largely lagged behind in the video game industry. While games based on DC characters such as the Batman: Arkham series and Injustice: Gods Among Us have thrived, games such as The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Thor: God of Thunder flopped, pushing Marvel to decide to pause releasing video games back in 2014.
The games based on DC characters succeeded because they painted new worlds, a move that is now being replicated by Marvel as players have shown that they do not want simple recreations of films into the games that they play.
Marvel is now only licensing out intellectual properties to developers, and will provide any support that their partners might need. With such a set-up, gamers should look forward to what will surely be much improved Marvel games in the near future.
Upcoming Marvel Games
Spider-Man, which was revealed at E3 2016, is being developed by Insomniac but has no release date, while Guardians of the Galaxy: A Telltale Series is expected to launch alongside the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 movie. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite will be released in late 2017, while The Avengers Project, which will be a project between Marvel and Square Enix, was only announced last month.
