The heroic tactical RPG Marvel’s Midnight Suns has had some major critical praise since its release in early December last year. However, the critical success of the title hasn’t quite translated into the same level of commercial results.
As spotted by VGC, it seems that the game’s publisher has now acknowledged the game’s poor retail performance, although it has hope for Marvel’s Midnight Suns to see a trend of longevity, as with other Firaxis-developed games. According to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, who has spoken to Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier recently about the title, Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ release window may have played a role in the reported commercial disappointment around the game. Schreier reports that according to Zelnick, “it’s possible the release window wasn’t perfect” for the game to achieve the retail results that Take-Two were expecting.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns launched on December 2, after previously being delayed throughout 2022. The game also only released versions for the current generation Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC, with versions for the last console generation set to be released at some point in the future. Although console availability is a factor worth considering, it’s also likely that the game’s release window, which was at the same time as other major releases such as The Callisto Protocol, Need for Speed Unbound and not long after the launch of God of War Ragnarok and Pokemon Scarlet & Violet in November, may have had something to do with its slow sales.
Another thing to consider is the nature of the game itself, which, despite being a Marvel-based title, is the first of its kind in combining the superhero IP with a turn-based, tactical strategy mechanic. This element was widely lauded by the critics but may have hit differently with players and particularly fans of the traditional live-action-based mechanics of previous Marvel games. Of course, this is purely speculation, but it’s worth considering. Either way, Marvel’s Midnight Suns could simply be a slower-burning story than expected, with Zelnick reportedly also acknowledging this in his interview with Schreier. The Bloomberg reporter remarks that “he thinks it could have a long tail, like other Firaxis games,” which if so, would almost certainly make up for slow initial sales of the tactical battler. Time will tell.
The game recently added fan-favourite Marvel character Deadpool as its first DLC character into the action, with an extensive roster of heroes already making an appearance in the main campaign and beyond. If you haven’t played it yet, now could be a good time to give it a whirl.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns is available now on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.