Embracer announced its intention to acquire Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal as well as several IPs associated with the studios. It appears Marvel’s Avengers and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will be amongst the back-catalog of games to also be making the transition. However, for Marvel’s Avengers to continue to receive future content, Marvel’s approval is needed, potentially making the game’s future uncertain.
Marvel games need approval to be included
An investor call was held following the announcement of Embracer’s intended acquisition. While the Tomb Raider, Thief, Deus Ex, and Legacy of Kain IPs had already been confirmed as included in the transaction, one investor asked whether Marvel’s Avengers and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy would also be included. Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors replied:
All games that have been developed by the studios are included in the transaction. However, a number of external approvals are needed from external partners in order to close this transaction, and potentially licensors, as you mention here, could be one of those approvals needed.
I don’t expect any notable commercial agreement relating to the studios or this transaction to be declined by either regulatory parties or business partners; however, that remains to be seen. I think your question was relating to the two existing games and whether they will be still operated and built upon and changed from the existing plans today going forward. And I think that is the color I can give you on this.
Wingefors later added they needed to wait until the deal is closed “to get more color around IPs and the studios”. That is expected to be sometime between July and September 2022, and it won’t be until then that the future of Marvel’s Avengers is decided. The uncertainty over the transaction could be why the Marvel’s Avengers team has been so reluctant to produce a roadmap of content for the future and has moved towards smaller updates instead.
In other news, Embracer has also promised new installments of beloved IPs such as Deus Ex and Thief. Elsewhere, the latest Ghostwire: Tokyo update has added VRR support for PS5 players, as well as fixed a number of gameplay bugs.
