Marvelvideo games have grown in prominence over the past few years. While there used to be movie tie-in games that were of varying quality - I maintainCaptain America: Super Soldierfor the PS3 is a pretty great game - the more recentMarvel’s Spider-Man,Marvel Rivals, and even the mobile phone game,Marvel Snap, have all been pretty great. Of course, there is plenty more on the horizon, as Marvel’s slate of upcoming video games is pretty exciting.
However, as much as I wish I could get excited about the likes ofMarvel’s BladeandMarvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, I just can’t. In recent memory,Marvel games have been canceled, frequently delayed, and even entire teams developing them have been laid off, as was the case withMarvel Rivals. Unfortunately, this streak of bad news is continuing, as yet another Marvel game has been affected. Personally,this may be one of the most disappointing updates we’ve had for a Marvel game, and it is killing me.
Marvel’s Blade Got A Disappointing Update
It Has Only Just Started Production
Marvel’s Blade, the exciting upcoming action-adventure game from developer Arkane Lyon - you may know them as the folks behindDeathloop,Prey, andDishonored 2- has been at the top of my list of most-anticipated games since it was announced. Itsmesmerizing TGA 2023 trailerblew me away with its stylized visuals and intriguing premise. We’ve heard little about the game since then, and, indeed, seen no gameplay, andit turns out that’s becauseBlade, allegedly, didn’t enter development until 2024.
Arkane Studios recently released its financial statements for 2024, discovered viaPappers International, in which it states that “the production phase of a AAA game project was launched at the end of 2024.” While it doesn’t name the game specifically, it is extremely likely to beMarvel’s Blade, as it is currently the only game the public is aware it is working on. It is possible it could refer to another Arkane Studios' project, butchances are this means thatMarvel’s Bladebegan its full-scale production in late 2024.
Of course, neither Arkane Lyon, Bethesda Softworks (who are publishingMarvel’s Blade), nor Marvel has confirmed that this is true, although it seems highly likely. The only trailer we’ve seen showcased exclusively non-gameplay footage, and we’ve not seen any gameplay stills since. The game has likely been in pre-production for quite some time, butthe chances of it having started full production in late 2024 are rather high.
Marvel’s Blade May Not Release Until 2027
Production Will Likely Take Years
Unfortunately, the fact thatMarvel’s Bladehas, more or less, only just entered full productionmeans that we likely won’t see it released until 2027 at the earliest. This is because video games usually take upwards of three to four years to develop -Deathloop, for example, began production in 2018 and was released in 2021. It is possible thatMarvel’s Bladewill be delayed in the future, as a lot of modern triple-A games are, potentially pushing it to 2028 or 2029. It certainly wouldn’t be the firstupcoming Marvel game to be delayed.
I sincerely hope we don’t get radio silence onMarvel’s Bladelike we have with thebafflingly secretiveMarvel’s Wolverine, as waiting three or four years with little info will only add to the stigma thatBladeproductions just can’t get made. It is disappointing thatMarvel’s Bladeis still such a long way away, but perhaps it was to be expected. After the devastating closure of Arkane Austin and Xbox’s general mismanagement of games leading to mass layoffs,Marvel’s Bladestarting development a year after it was revealed is disappointing, but not at all surprising.
