Marvel's Avengers: New Release Date, Characters, Gameplay, And What We Know

Square Enix's Marvel's Avengers is among the most anticipated games of the year, driven in part by the massive success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, it'll be a bit longer before we're finally able to play it--after previously being due out in May, Marvel's Avengers has been delayed. Its new release date is now set for September 2020.

If you haven't been keeping track, 2020 is looking to be one of the most jam-packed years for new game releases we've seen in a while. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are all delivering brand-new IPs and long-awaited sequels to fan-favorite first-party series. Third-party developers are delivering too, both triple-A and indie. And, of course, there will be new consoles on the market. Marvel's Avengers will have a lot of competition for player attention in 2020.

Announcement & Reveal

First announced in January 2017 with the codename The Avengers Project, Marvel's Avengers remained fairly secret for years--the only concrete information revealed was that it was being developed by Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal, the same teams respectively behind the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy and Deus Ex series. It wouldn't be until 2019 that more information would be released: that the game was officially called Marvel's Avengers. The game was then officially unveiled and shown off for the first time at E3 2019.

Initial reactions for the game were mixed--we here at GameSpot weren't sure what the game even was upon seeing it behind closed doors. Based solely on the announcement trailer, Marvel's Avengers seemed to be a superhero game where you played missions as the titular characters in levels that included both button-mashing combat segments and scripted, on-the-rails platforming/flight sections. The trailer released fresh off the heels of the widely popular Avengers Endgame, and some fans weren't too thrilled with the stylistic choices taken with the Avengers' new designs. Square Enix went on record saying the designs would stay, but, ultimately, the characters did get updated designs in future trailers, gameplay reveals, and press images.

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• Marvel's Avengers Characters Have New(ish) Looks

What Is Marvel's Avengers?

It wouldn't be until Gamescom 2019 that we'd get a better idea as to what Marvel's Avengers even is. Despite the title, the main focus of the game's narrative does not actually focus on Earth's mightiests heroes. Instead, the main character of Marvel's Avengers is Kamala Khan, the second Ms. Marvel and the first openly Muslim character to headline a Marvel comic. Since her debut, Kamala has quickly become one of Marvel's most beloved heroes, going on to receive a second comic run under a different writer and feature in numerous animated series and video games. She's also getting a live-action TV series for Disney+, which will introduce the character to Disney's MCU.

Marvel's Avengers primarily follows on the heels of a reworked variation of the Inhumanity storyline, in which countless humans around the world suddenly discover they are Inhuman and develop superpowers. Kamala is one such Inhuman, developing shapeshifting abilities that she can utilize to grow in size and strength. Discovering a plot by the villainous H.I.V.E, Kamala attempts to reunite the disbanded Avengers, who went their separate ways after failing to stop a terrorist attack.

Gameplay wise, Marvel's Avengers sees you take on missions as different superheroes--primarily Kamala, but you do play as Avengers and familiar faces from the Marvel universe as well--all of whom play differently. This opens up Marvel's Avengers to different types of gameplay, ranging from high-action flight missions as Iron Man to more Batman: Arkham Trilogy-like stealth and combat sections as Black Widow. As a result, certain missions can only be tackled by specific characters. However, some missions will allow you to replay them with different characters from the in-game roster.

Marvel's Avengers is being developed as a games-as-a-service title, with additional characters, missions, and cosmetics releasing after the game has launched. The game supports both single- and multiplayer; as well as both off- and online play.

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• Marvel's Avengers Stars Ms. Marvel & 80 Years Of Comic History
• Marvel's Avengers Game Will Get "Changes To Everything" Before Launch
• Marvel's Avengers Gameplay, Story Details Shown At Comic-Con Panel
• Good News: Marvel's Avengers Game Can Be Played Offline
• Marvel's Avengers Game Has Microtransactions

When Does Marvel's Avengers Release?

Marvel's Avengers is scheduled to release for Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Google Stadia on September 4, 2020. It was originally slated for release in May, but a delay was announced in January.

What Characters Will Be Included In Marvel's Avengers?

A complete list has yet to be revealed, but, so far, the following characters have been confirmed to be playable in Marvel's Avengers. Note: Square Enix has teased Hawkeye as a playable character, but has asked fans to "stay tuned" for additional details.

Confirmed Playable Characters

• Captain America
• Iron Man
• Black Widow
• Hulk
• Thor
• Ant-Man
• Ms. Marvel

The following Marvel characters have been confirmed for Marvel's Avengers as well, though no announcement has been made confirming whether or not they're playable.

Additional Characters Confirmed To At Least Appear

• Taskmaster
• The Abomination

Read More:

• Marvel's Avengers Game Characters: All The Superheroes Confirmed (So Far)
• Marvel’s Avengers Studio Head Talks Character Appearances, Crunch, And Squirrel Girl

Pre-Order

If you're looking to get a copy of Doom Eternal when it comes out, you can pre-order it ahead of time. For more details on each version, be sure to jump into our pre-order guide.

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