Everything we know about Marvel's Avengers

Marvel's Avengers is a result of the deal struck between Marvel and Square Enix back in 2017 — and it will likely be the first of many games to result from this partnership. After years of waiting, the game's debut is finally upon us. The beta is scheduled for every weekend leading up to release. When you're done, there's much so much to take about what the game will look like post-launch.

Here's everything we now know about Marvel's Avengers.

When is the Marvel’s Avengers release date?

Marvel's Avengers will be released for on September 4, 2020, on current generation hardware and sometime this holiday season for next-generation consoles.

The game also supports smart delivery, so you'll be able to upgrade to the next-gen version of the game if you already own it.

Is there a Marvel's Avengers trailer?

There are several! The very first trailer was released in January 2017, teasing an overall story where the Avengers are defeated and/or disbanded.

One of the more recent and prominent trailers aired during E3 2019 and debuted an event called "A-Day" that happens in the opening to the game. The Avengers gather in San Francisco for a celebratory event, but the city is attacked and advanced technology used to devastate the area. Here's a look.

Since then, developer Crystal Dynamics, publisher Square Enix, and Marvel Entertainment at large have released a series of different videos and trailers showcasing the story and gameplay elements of Marvel's Avengers. More are expected to come out leading up to release.

What is the plot of Marvel’s Avengers?

Marvel’s Avengers lays out a new Avengers-focused story for players. In the near future, an Avengers celebration called “Avengers Day” (A-Day) takes place in San Francisco, allowing the public to connect with the Avengers. A sudden attack on the Golden Gate Bridge forces the heroes to ditch the event and spring into action.

While Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and Black Widow go to work saving civilians on the bridge, Captain America returns to the Avengers Helicarrier to fight off baddies trying to gain possession of an experimental energy source in the Avengers’ possession. The Avengers watch as the Helicarrier explodes and sinks into the water after Cap tries to get to the reactor powering the airship.

Taking a cue from Captain America: Civil War, it turns out the Avengers have been set up to look like the ones who staged the attack on the bridge and the Helicarrier. This leads to Avengers being outlawed, stripped of any official standing, and shunted off into the shadows, forbidden to use their powers.

Years later, Ms. Marvel is inspired to get them back together in order to stop a nefarious plot by AIM and M.O.D.O.K. to control the world under the guise of curing the Inhumans that the A-Day event spawned. The game will see players saving Inhumans, restoring their honor, and taking down M.O.D.O.K.

How does Marvel's Avengers play?

Marvel's Avengers finds a unique balance between third-person action games like Batman: Arkham Knight and live service titles like Destiny. Despite their varied powers, controls appear homogenized between all the playable characters, though each has special powers. They also have an in-depth skill tree with a variety of skills for players to customize their characters. Perks will also add various buffs and debuffs to heroes and enemies.

The game is loot- and gear-focused, with menus reminiscent of Destiny. There are a ton of outfits and emotes, many of which are based on classic comics. While there will be a linear single-player Hero story, there are also more open-ended War Zone missions that can be played in co-op. When playing in co-op, two heroes can do a special finisher together when enemies are stunned.

What platforms will Marvel's Avengers on?

Marvel's Avengers will be simultaneously be released for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and even Google Stadia. No Nintendo Switch version appears to be planned.

On June 22, the publisher also confirmed that the enhanced next-gen version of the game will be released during the 2020 holiday season for those who wait a couple of extra months. Even better, the next-gen versions are free to those that bought it on a current-gen system.

Does Marvel's Avengers have cross-play?

If you're on Xbox and want to play with your friend on PlayStation then you're out of luck. Cross-platform play currently isn't in the cards for Marvel's Avengers. However, it will feature cross-generation play. If you're on PS4, hankering to play with a PS5 pal then go right ahead!

Which heroes and villains are featured in Marvel’s Avengers?

At launch, six playable characters have been front and center: Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, The Hulk, Thor, and Ms. Marvel. With the exception of Ms. Marvel, it's a fairly straightforward team setup that MCU fans will recognize. That said, some other characters have been teased in the game's leaks and marketing.

This includes Hank Pym, Abomination, Taskmaster, Captain Marvel, Dum Dum Dugan, Maria Hill, and Nick Fury. There will no doubt be more villains and other characters than these in the game, but right now these are the characters you should expect.

Does Marvel’s Avengers tie into Marvel's Spider-Man?

Fans quickly picked up on the possibility of Marvel’s Avengers and PS4’s Spider-Man existing within the same universe thanks to a bit of key dialogue spoken in the Spider-Man game. During the game, players have the opportunity to take a picture of Stark Tower in Manhattan, prompting Spider-Man to remark, “Avengers Tower, so cool! Too bad they’re never around to use it. They’re on the west coast or something. Probably surfing.”

The fact that the “A-Day” trailer shows all of the Avengers based out of San Francisco suggests this could be a shared video game universe.

Alas, despite all this evidence lining up, every Marvel game has been confirmed to take place in separate universes. "Each game is in the Marvel universe, but they're in their own reality if you will. Currently, our plan is to keep each game set in its own Marvel universe" said Bill Rosemann, who heads Marvel's games department, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. According to Rosemann, this to give developers the most possible freedom to tell specific stories with characters.

Will Marvel's Avengers get post-launch DLC?

Yes. Post-launch, more story content will be added for free alongside new characters. During July's War Table stream, the first DLC character for the game was revealed. It was Hawkeye, a highly requested character for the game. He will be added to the game for free at an undisclosed time after it launches.

"In an original story-arc inspired by some of the best-known Hawkeye moments in the comics, players wield Clint’s iconic high-tech bow and trick arrows in missions either solo or co-op online with friends," a press release revealing Hawkeye explains. "Hawkeye’s story will continue to move the entire Marvel’s Avengers narrative world forward, and all-new missions are accessible with the entire roster of playable heroes."

Hawkeye also appears to be deaf like he was in Matt Fraction's run, as a hearing aid can be seen in his ear during his reveal trailer. Hawkeye's story is only one part of this post-launch content, which will apparently introduce a "new villain" to the game. Sadly, Square Enix said that it won't be sharing more about that until a later date.

On August 3, 2020, Spider-Man was confirmed to be on the way to the game, joining the fray in 2021. Unfortunately, you can only swing into action as the web crawler if you're playing on PS4. Spider-man is one of the many exclusive benefits that will be provided to PlayStation gamers.

What is the PlayStation Advantage in Marvel's Avengers?

In addition to Spider-Man, PlayStation owners will have a few more incentives to pick up Marvel's Avengers on their Sony console. You'll have 30-day exclusive access to exclusive cosmetics like a Legendary Outfit, Legendary Emote, Epic Takedown, and nameplate for every playable character upon release. This includes the initial six-person roster.

PS Plus members will earn even more exclusive goodies. At launch, all PS Plus subscribers will get a bundle containing a Rare Outfit, nameplate, and 100 Credits for Kamala. This will be repeated for every post-launch hero including Spider-Man and Hawkeye.

Marvel’s Avengers will be released on Xbox One, PS4, Google Stadia, and PC September 4, 2020.