As Marvel’s Avengers game shuts down, one dev offers an apology

While support for the Avengers game is set to end soon, a former creative director at one of the Marvel’s Avengers support studios has addressed the imminent closure of the superhero game with a brief yet poignant apology. The live service title didn’t live up to publisher Square Enix’s expectations, so throughout this year it’s slowly going to lose support.

Marvel’s Avengers was co-developed by Virtuos, and one of the team members there has spoken about what’s happened to the game, apologising to players for the unfavorable outcome. Co-creative director Cezar Virtosu is now at Hexworks developing The Lords of the Fallen, but he also worked on bosses and enemies for Marvel’s Avengers.

“It was a challenging production, let’s say,” Virtosu says. “I apologise for that.”

This follows the news that Marvel’s Avengers is to be shut down by Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix later this year after it had an incredibly steep Steam discount alongside the closure news.

This apology from Virtosu is part of a larger interview with Edge Magazine (via GamesRadar), but it sadly won’t slow the game shutting down, which is set to happen next month.

• March 31, 2023: all credits will be converted into in-game resources, no new content, all cosmetics available for free
• September 30, 2023: all support will end for Marvel’s Avengers, but single-player and multiplayer will still be available

The reception to Marvel’s Avengers was highly mixed from the start. Square Enix opted for a live service game with a steady stream of free updates supported by cosmetics and currencies, but the impact this had on the core gameplay loop appears to have weighed down the overall experience.

I maintain that the single-player stuff in the Avengers game is actually quite good, even if some of the live service mechanics do slip through. If you can find it cheap or can play it via a PC Game Pass subscription, I’d recommend giving it a try at the very least, especially after March 31 when all the cosmetics become free.

If you want some similar games to Marvel’s Avengers, our lists of the best action-adventure games and open-world games should keep you busy.