During the recent showcase from publisher Square Enix, Crystal Dynamics revealed their roadmap for the immediate future of Marvel’s Avengers video game. In their announcement, they revealed upcoming content in order to let fans know that the game would be getting more, and that support was ongoing. Perhaps most importantly, the showcase confirmed that the game will see the addition of new characters to the roster, such as Black Panther.
In addition to Black Panther being included, there will be new cosmetic updates, in-game events, and major story-driven content. The first of these major story-driven events will focus on and introduce Clint Barton (Hawkeye) into the game, which has already been added to the title and is available to play right now. The name of this event is Operation Hawkeye: Future Imperfect.
Aside from all of these gameplay updates, new cosmetics, new heroes, and story content, there is also a new villain, Maestro. On top of that, the main campaign will become replayable and the HARM room will now be customizable, for what that’s worth. If you own either a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series X|S, the upgrade to next-generation versions of the game will also be made available for free. We’ll cover some more of the specific additions to the game down below.
The Tachyon Anomaly
First up is The Tachyon Anomaly, coming in the Spring. Ignoring the Hawkeye business, this is the first new event coming to Avengers on the Roadmap. Worth noting in this event is that there will be no restriction that forces only one copy of each hero. This means you could, theoretically, have four Thors, four of Captain America, or any number of any of the heroes on the same mission. There will also be daily and weekly missions that provide awards to players that specifically match up with multiple versions of the same hero, so it’s clear that the intent is to actually do this, rather than simply having the restriction lifted.
A unique Tachyon mission will be added to the War Table, while additional Tachyon missions will be made available throughout the event, with the various missions scaling for power levels from 1 all the way to 100. If players complete these missions, they can get a new animated nameplate as a reward.
Black Widow
Coming next in May, Marvel’s Avengers video game will tie in with the upcoming release of the Black Widow movie and celebrate it by turning most of their focus to her. This will happen in the form of special quests for each individual hero. When completed, players will get a unique Red Room nameplate. The main plot of the event involves Yelena Belova hacking the HARM room to capture the Avengers with a Red Room trap. During this event, new hero outfits will be available as well.
The Cosmic Cube
Summer is when we’ll be getting our hands on The Cosmic Cube, a Villain Sector that includes Scientist Supreme. This event will continue the story from where Future Imperfect ends, taking Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to the Frozen Tundra, where the titular Cosmic Cube is being constructed. Crystal Dynamics claims that the villain fight is “a totally new experience.” Considering that boss fights have been the same for months now, many players are looking forward to that.
Patrol Mode And Omega-Level Threat Missions
The Cosmic Cube isn’t the only thing happening in the summer, as players will also get to go back to the Wasteland, which was introduced during the Hawkeye content mentioned earlier. In this area, players can partake in a new War Zone mission type being called Patrol Mode. The developers described this as “one large overland map where players can move from one area to the next. It’s very similar to free-roam in games like Destiny: both activities and enemies will be continuously spawning at regular intervals across the map, and instead of having a fixed objective, players are free to pick and choose what they want to do as they become available. The Wasteland is divided into three major locales: the Kree Sentry Graveyard, the Ruined City, and the SHIELD stronghold.
Also mentioned was Omega-Level threat missions. Crystal Dynamics does not have a clear release window for them yet, but they are working on two such missions. Unfortunately, the only timetable they provided for us was “as soon as possible.” Being very tough missions, they are designed for multiplayer and demand a high level of synergy and cooperation, as one might expect. The first of these missions, dubbed Resolution, is a fight against the Super Adaptoid and will reward gear from said enemy
The second mission, called the Cloning Labs, is a four-player mission with the distinction of being the longest mission in the game upon release. The climactic battle will be against four powerful Abomination clones.
The Addition of Black Panther
Further in the future than all of this content is the War for Wakanda expansion, which will not only introduce Black Panther as a playable hero, but also new hero outfits, increase the power level cap for players, add a new faction, and some more villains to face. As one might expect, it will also add the Wakandan Jungle biome, new story content, and more.
In the teaser for this content, a voice can be heard delivering a reply to Monica Rappaccini, better known in the lore of the universe as the villain Scientist Supreme. The person says that she has the men and the technology to aid in the invasion of Wakanda in order to obtain their much-valued Vibranium.
The voice belongs to Ulysses Klaw, the sub-villain we all saw in the first Black Panther movie. So, we can kind of work out the plot of the event already, even though there is no actual release date for the content yet. All we know is that it is coming out “later this year.”
Other Future Updates
There’s actually a number of other content additions on the roadmap, but they don’t have release dates of their own. This content includes multiplayer Megahives, progression for players beyond level 50, and a number of outfits inspired by the MCU films. There are also many gradual improvements being made to the game: Crystal Dynamic is working on perfecting the game’s balance, the collectible comics system, the progression of gear, and matchmaking.
