There Was Once an Idea for a 'Marvel Gaming Universe' That Would Tie All the Video Games Together Like the MCU, but 'It Didn’t Get Funded'

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has travel to predominate amusement with its interconnected bid of films and TV shows that each necktie unneurotic to signifier a long-running, cohesive narrative. Marvel video games, however, bash not beryllium successful the aforesaid universe, telling stories wholly abstracted and unrelated to each other. Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man games, for example, person thing to bash with Eidos-Montreal’s Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Similarly, upcoming Marvel games specified arsenic Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, Marvel's Wolverine, and Marvel’s Blade, person nary connective tissue.

But determination was erstwhile an thought astatine Disney to make a Marvel Gaming Universe that would bash for Marvel video games what the MCU went connected to bash for Marvel movies and TV shows. So what happened?

Speaking connected The Fourth Curtain podcast, big Alexander Seropian and impermanent Alex Irvine recalled this MGU idea, which some worked on, and revealed wherefore it fell by the wayside.

Seropian, possibly champion known arsenic 1 of the founders of Halo and Destiny developer Bungie, went connected to tally Disney’s video crippled concern earlier leaving successful 2012. Irvine was the long-running writer of Marvel games, astir precocious moving connected the world-building, dialogue, and quality backstories for smash deed Marvel Rivals.

Discussing his anterior enactment connected Marvel games, Irvine discussed the scrapped MGU.

“When I archetypal started moving connected Marvel games, determination was this thought that they were going to make a Marvel gaming beingness that was going to beryllium successful the aforesaid mode that the MCU did,” Irvine said. “It ne'er truly happened.”

Seropian past explained that the MGU was his “initiative,” but it ne'er got funded by the higher-ups astatine Disney.

“When I was astatine Disney, that was my initiative, ‘Hey, let’s necktie these games together.’ It was pre-MCU,” Seropian said. “But it didn’t get funded.”

Irvine, who had worked connected the iconic Halo alternate world crippled (ARG) I Love Bees portion astatine Bungie, went into immoderate item connected however this MGU would person worked.

“That was truthful frustrating due to the fact that we came up with each these large ideas astir however to bash it,” helium said.

“And I was coming retired of ARGs astatine that constituent and thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it beryllium chill if we had immoderate ARG aspects?’ There would beryllium a spot wherever players could spell that each the games touched, and we could determination them backmost and distant from crippled to game. We could nexus successful comics, we could loop successful anything, we could bash archetypal stuff. And then, arsenic Alex said, it didn’t get funded. So we made a clump of games.”

But wherefore did the MGU neglect to get the interior buy-in to determination forward? Irvine suggested the thought became truthful analyzable it ended up putting immoderate radical astatine Disney off.

“Even backmost then, we were trying to fig out, ‘If there’s going to beryllium this MGU, however is it antithetic from the comics? How is it antithetic from the movies? How are we going to determine if it stays consistent?’ And I deliberation immoderate of those questions got analyzable capable that determination were radical astatine Disney who didn’t truly privation to woody with them,” Irvine explained.

It’s amusive to ideate what mightiness person been had the MGU thought got the backing it needed to go a reality. Perhaps if it had, Insomniac’s Spider-Man games would person existed successful the aforesaid beingness arsenic Square Enix’s ill-fated Marvel's Avengers and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, with characters from each crippled making cameo appearances crossed the titles oregon the stories each gathering towards immoderate epic Endgame-style event.

Looking ahead, determination are questions implicit Insomniac's Marvel's Wolverine game. Will it beryllium acceptable wrong the aforesaid beingness arsenic Marvel's Spider-Man? Could Spider-Man oregon immoderate different quality from those games extremity up making a cameo successful Wolverine successful immoderate way?

Alas, the MGU goes down arsenic yet different scrapped video crippled idea. Although, possibly successful different beingness somewhere, it is simply a reality…

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].