Will Marvel's Avengers Be Shutting Down?

Crystal Dynamics' Marvel's Avengers has been a complicated game going from one controversy to the next post-launch. In the wake of the game's recent content update bringing Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier and more technical adjustments and fixes, a new revelation surfaced online that finally revealed the game's anticipated fate.

A report detailed that Marvel's Avengers may finally meet its endgame in 2024; however, no dates could be confirmed. The time is quite peculiar as datamined information revealed that more Heroes would soon be teaming up with the Avengers, although no one from the development team has confirmed this.

8th August 2023 Update: We've updated this news article to confirm that Crystal Dynamics announced it would end support for Marvel's Avengers on 30th September 2023. The game will subsequently be removed from gaming storefronts and marketplaces.

Will Crystal Dynamics Shut Down Marvel's Avengers?

According to eXputer's Miller Ross, he outlined plans for developer Crystal Dynamics to end development on possible post-launch content for Marvel's Avengers. This follows claims that the studio management had eyed a three to five-year lifespan for the game following launch, with the studio looking to "sunset" the game in 2023.

Subsequently, this will result in no content plans or releases for the game in 2024, which sees an end to its tumultuous history. However, before the game reaches its endgame, an audio file reveals that four more Heroes are reportedly joining the battle, possibly sometime in 2023.

Listening to the audio revealed an announcement from Jane Foster telling Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, Shuri, Riri Williams/Ironheart, and Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk coming to Marvel's Avengers. For the latter, this news should delight players following multiple datamined reports alluding to her arrival, including the character's voice actress being revealed.

While adding new characters should excite players, it can be viewed as too late for the game's longevity. Since its release in August 2020, the game has been consistently plagued by multiple technical problems, behind-the-scenes controversy, and gameplay errors, which prompted concerns from its player base.

This included the game's sporadic post-launch content plans, which saw the long-anticipated Cloning Lab released in November 2022 to myriad networking and bug errors. The studio's persistent struggles to resolve the issues and the dwindling loss of employee and player morale contributed to the game's eventual demise. 

As many employees opted to work on other IPs, the few that hadn't been transferred left the studio around the time new leadership was ushered in as Brian Waggoner filled in the void left behind by Philippe Therrien, who went to work on Perfect Dark. Waggoner was then the center of various controversies, including reverting their commitment regarding pay-to-win strategies and several tweets which mocked disability as well as racist and stereotypical comments, which resulted in the studio apologizing on his behalf for his behavior.

This ironically disregards the studio's partnership with Ad Council for their "Game for Good" initiative, which provides players with the resources to promote "more inclusive and accepting spaces within their communities." With Crystal Dynamics acquired by the Embracer Group in May 2022, plans remain unchanged as it's still en route to shutting down the game in 2023.

Marvel's Avengers Shutdown Countdown Timer

As stated before, Crystal Dynamics will be sunsetting Marvel's Avengers officially in 2023, as physical and digital copies of the game will no longer be available. The date provided by the developer in the Final Update developer post cites 30 September 2023; however, no time was provided.

They have provided what is the last game update for the game, Update 2.8, which was made available on 31st March 2023. While there will be no further purchases of Credits after this update, players can acquire all Marketplace items like Challenge Cards, Shipment, content, Outfits, Takedowns, Emotes, and Nameplates for free, while solo play and multiplayer will remain active after 30 September 2023.