After an incredibly long wait, Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that Spider-Man is coming toMarvel’s Avengers(only on PS4 and PS5) on November 30. This brings inSpider-Man alongside the Klaw Raid, as well as stories and cutscenes pertaining to the webhead. Announcing his release date with nothing new on him is rather odd, as no image, cutscene, design, or anything of that nature had been revealed about Spider-Man at that point.
Now, Crystal Dynamics recently hosted a livestream whereMarvel’s Avengersfans got a very brief look at Spider-Man. It wasn’t, obviously, the main focus of the stream, but still, fans latched on to what they could see, which was mostly limited to a nameplate and character icon. Neither were of particularly great quality in the stream, but that’s also because they weren’t the primary focus. Crystal Dynamics did confirm in this stream that a character reveal of Spider-Man would take place on Friday, November 12, but for a character as popular as Spider-Man, doing so 18 days before his release may seem like cutting it close.
RELATED:Marvel’s Avengers Confirms Spider-Man DLC Will Feature Story and Cutscenes
Marvel’s Avengers: Spider-Man vs. Kate Bishop vs. Clinton vs. Black Panther
He was first confirmed long ago, last year in fact, and fans have been waiting ever since. Each character released thus far for its post-launch content—Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), Clint Barton, and Black Panther—was shown with plenty of time before the official launch, with announcements, confirmation, and more before that. Kate Bishop, for example, was truly shown for the first time on November 19 (though a little before that too) with a release date before going live on December 8—19 days later. This puts her on par with Spider-Man.
For Clint Barton, he was shown off extensively in February ahead of his March release with roughly 30 days where he got a lot of attention, trailers, and so on.Black Panther and War for Wakandawas first confirmed in March, was shown a small bit over the summer, got a release date in July, and had some things to show before launch in August. In other words, to some degree, each character got a decent amount of time in the sun well before their launch, but Spider-Man is getting the least amount of time overall.
One would think that Crystal Dynamics would push Spider-Man as aggressively as War for Wakanda. Thing is, Spider-Man isn’t as loaded with content as War for Wakanda, butSpider-Man is as important toMarvel’s Avengers’futureas this expansion was. The game has gotten a lot of traction here lately, but not nearly enough to survive a bad launch for Spider-Man.
RELATED:5 Superhero Games to Play After Beating Marvel’s Avengers
Marvel’s Avengers: Spider-Man Reveal and Release
Confirmation for November 12 is seen roughly around the 56:00-minute mark.
Ultimately,Marvel’s Avengerswill need to go in deep on Spider-Man before his November 30 release date. November 12 isn’t the worst time to do so, but Spider-Man is overdue for his time in the sun, at least a little something. It seems the devs intend to show off his character and his costumes, but that still potentially leaves out content likeSpider-Man’s gameplay inMarvel’s Avengersthat many fans will want to know more about.
The answer to why it seems so slow is uncertain. It could be thatCrystal Dynamics is saving Spider-Man to make a real strong impressioncloser to his release date. It could be that the studio is still in the process of finalizing his character. In the best-case scenario, it’s just been a busy time and it’s been hard to get this marketing going/done right. His reveal and what follows, however, should still be able to knock it out of the park.
In a neutral scenario, it could be that some sort of delay in the marketing pipeline means he hasn’t been shown yet, leaving the reveal to go either way. But in the worst-case scenario, it could be that Crystal Dynamics isn’t confident in its Spider-Man, and Spider-Man is incredibly important toMarvel’s Avengers’ future. It could be that his reveal doesn’t stick with fans, much like Iron Man andThor’s designsfailed to do so at first.
The fact thatSpider-Man is exclusive to PS4 and PS5alone is already going to cause a stink when he releases, and there’s no winning that fight. If his content is awesome, his gameplay on the nose, and all that, PC and Xbox players are going to feel the snub. If everything is the exact opposite, that invites more maligned comments. Spider-Man is in a tight situation here, there’s no real winner in this fight, but hopefully, Spider-Man’s ghost act is temporary and not intentional. Fans will know more on November 12.
Marvel’s Avengersis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
