Several games are being pushed out into the market which is centered around being a game as a service title. If you’re unfamiliar with the phrase, it’s basically a game that’s banking on content continuously being pushed out for gamers to enjoy. This would mean that veterans will continue to log onto the game in order to enjoy the latest updates while newcomers may eventually get swayed overdue to different content updates. There are several games out there for example such as The Division 2 or even Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege.
However, not all games that release into the market are big hits. Some titles simply don’t do well and the same can be said for these games as a service. We all remember Anthem which was pulled for a big overhaul at a later date. Another prime example of a title with this outlook that didn’t do well is Marvel’s Avengers.
Developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix, this is an action-adventure beat ‘em up title. Players would gain access to different key Avengers members and go through different missions to save the day. Unfortunately, the feedback was lukewarm which you can even get our personal view on the title within the Before You Buy video down below. At any rate, this game didn’t hit the strides that the publishers were hoping for.
In fact, it was during an earnings call that the president of Square Enix had admitted that they didn’t turn a profit yet. It looks like the studio is still trying to overcome the development cost for the title and marketing. Marketing, in general, was a big hurdle for the publishers to deal with. Since the coronavirus pushed things back, Square Enix wanted to regain that hype momentum by offering a big marketing campaign which resulted in more budget being spent to get this game out into the public eye.
For now, it looks like Square Enix is not going to hit that big payday from the title. Although, being a game as a service title, there is always the hope that future updates and content expansions will bring in more players and result in turning a profit. Only time will tell if Marvel’s Avengers will last.