The Biggest Marvel Game Of The Year Just Got A Huge Update

What’s likely to be the year’s biggest Marvel game, one helmed by the prolific writer behind Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series, Amy Hennig, now has a release window, according to one of the upcoming blockbuster game’s leading stars.

Actor Khary Payton, the man behind Marvel 1943: Rise Of Hydra’s 1940s-era Black Panther, says developer Skydance New Media is aiming for a Holiday 2025 release date. Payton confirmed the release window in an interview with The Direct, providing some additional details about the game.

“We’re still planning on 2025. We’re thinking like a Christmas situation,” he said in the interview. “I know it's taken a while, but trust me, it is going to be worth it.”

There’s a slim chance the game will release on Christmas Day. But the lauded holiday window seems as good a time as ever for a high-profile project starring Black Panther and Captain America to drop. Based on what little we’ve seen of Marvel 1943, it is likely to make a splash whenever Skydance is ready to release it.

For those who don’t remember the game’s incredible reveal one year ago, Marvel 1943: Rise Of Hydra is set in German-occupied Paris and is based loosely on the 2010 comic series Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers. The game follows Azzuri (grandfather to T’Challa) and Steve Rogers (played by actor Drew Moerlein), two heroes intervening in the conflict for different reasons. Despite their frosty relationship, they must unite to defeat the Red Skull’s evil faction.

While its premise seems like typical Marvel fodder (in a great way!), it was the technology powering the game that turned heads in its debut. The game uses Unreal Engine 5 and its many bells and whistles like Lumen, MetaHuman, and more to create ultrarealistic environments and characters in real-time. Factor in the involvement of Uncharted 1 through 3 writer and director Amy Hennig, and it's easy to understand why Marvel 1943 is one to keep an eye on later this year.

“We want people to play this game and have the entire family, sit on the sofa and watch it like they're watching Game of Thrones, or The Walking Dead,” Payton said about the game’s presentation. “We’re looking for just an incredible cinematic experience for everybody.”

As impressive as the game looks on a technical level, we’ve yet to see actual gameplay. We know that Marvel 1943 will be a third-person action game. We also know that players will take control of both heroes as well as a member of Cap’s Howling Commandos squad, and Wakandan spy Nanali. But we know little else about what actually playing through this adventure will be like. Trailers suggest there will be as much sneaking around in the shadows as Azzuri as they’ll be hand-to-hand combat. But with a release coming within the year, it would be great to finally get some clarity for what this game is after five years of development.

It’s pretty wild that it's taken this long to get a story-focused video game fronted by some of Marvel’s biggest heroes in a post-MCU world. The 2020’s Avengers game (which featured both Captain America and Black Panther) had its fans, its live service elements were repellent for players who wanted a more traditional single-player experience.

While 2025 seems like the year for Captain America and Black Panther to dominate the gaming space, they’re not the only Marvel heroes with a project on the horizon. Insomniac is still working on the single player Wolverine game published by PlayStation. Dishonored’s Arkane Studios is working on a Blade game. Meanwhile, Black Panther is pulling double duty as Electronic Arts is publishing its own game starring the Wakandan king, as well as an Iron Man game from Dead Space remake developer Motive.