According to Marvel Games boss, Bill Rosemann, there are no plans to create a connected games universe similar to the ever-growing MCU.
The Insomniac-developed Spider-Man title on PS4 kicked off a new era of licensed AAA games for Marvel. Since then, Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy-branded adventures have hit store shelves to varying degrees of acclaim and commercial success.
Insomniac’s work on a Wolverine game has, naturally, raised questions about whether or not it will tie connect to the studio’s pre-existing Spider-Man world.
Recent announcements of a Captain America and Black Panther project, along with EA’s Iron Man game, have further intensified interest in a potentially connected universe.
Fans shouldn’t hold out hope for a Marvel games universe
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Marvel Games VP and Creative Director Bill Rosemann addressed questions about the possibility of an MCU-like games narrative.
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Rosemann told the publication that such an initiative would rob the brand’s partners of their creative freedom. According to the Marvel Games executive,
“The world is, amazingly, very familiar and accepting of the multiverse. We have all these different realities. Now they’re all real, and we want to give everyone the freedom to tell their story. We don’t want to say ‘you can’t blow up the moon, because this game over here by another studio needs the moon’. We want to give everyone the freedom and the clear lane to tell their story.”
In short, a connected universe for Marvel-branded games is presently off the table and with good reason.
It makes sense that Rosemann and Co. would not want whatever Insomniac has planned for Spider-Man 2 to affect Firaxis’ narrative in Marvel’s Midnight Suns.
Besides, exclusivity deals for certain platform holders would undoubtedly stifle even the smallest attempt at a link across multiple games.