Crystal Dynamics’Marvel’s Avengershad a rough launch, and to this day issues are still cropping up. For example, the live-service title recently announced paid XP boosters, going back on previous assurances that microtransactions would only apply to cosmetics. It hasn’t been all bad though, with content expansions like War for Wakanda andMarvel’s Avengersreleasing on Xbox Game Passgiving it a boost in fans' eyes. The latter could also set up a great pattern for Eidos Montreal’sGuardians of the Galaxyto follow.
The popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe led to a renaissance in Marvel Comics video games developed by various studios.Kabam has mobile games likeMarvel Realm of Champions, Insomniac has itsMarvel’s Spider-Manuniverse (soon to expand withWolverine), and now publisher Square Enix is set to make itself a more substantial player by addingGuardians of the Galaxyto its line-up on October 26. WithAvengersalready appearing on Game Pass, it would make sense forGuardiansto follow suit, giving Square its own unique niche for Marvel video games.
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Square Enix’s Ties in The Industry
Generally speaking, Square Enix is platform agnostic. Its many properties have appeared on just about every console imaginable to varying degrees. However, many would probably associate the brand with Sony’s PlayStation. ThoughFinal Fantasybegan its life on the NES in 1987, many of its best-known entries likeFinal Fantasy 7were exclusive to PlayStation, and to this day games likeFinal Fantasy 14still only appear on PC and PlayStation.
The same can be said for something likeKingdom Hearts. WhileSora is about to joinSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate,Kingdom Hearts 1and2were both exclusive to the PlayStation 2 at release. That series is harder to judge though, with multiple entries likeChain of MemoriesandDream Drop Distanceoriginally coming to Nintendo handhelds.
In fact, Nintendo is probably Square’s second biggest console partner today. Discounting the long history of earlyFinal FantasyandDragon Questgames appearing on Nintendo hardware, there are still major Nintendo-exclusive franchises coming out of Square Enix.Bravely Defaultis perhaps the biggest name of note, though the upcoming HD-2D gameTriangle Strategyis also set to be a Switch exclusive.
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Square Enix’s Marvel Properties Can Thrive Together on Game Pass
It’s much harder to think of franchises Square Enix has partnered exclusively with Xbox to release. Part of this likely has to do with Square being a Japanese company, thus having less interest in Microsoft compared to Sony and Nintendo (which have more of a presence in Japan). This is one major reason why Eidos Montreal’sGuardians of the Galaxyshould come to Game Pass alongsideAvengers. Keeping its Marvel properties together on the subscription service may offer Square Enix more of an edge judging byAvengers' uptick in users.
If the Square-published Marvel games become a bastion on Game Pass, it would also serve as something of a competitor to Sony’s first-party titles out of Insomniac Games.Guardians of the Galaxyis also releasing on PlayStation systems and Switch as a cloud port, but it’s hard to deny the appeal of getting it as a potential package deal with the Game Pass subscription.Avengersarguably has more to gain with Game Pass because its active userbase is aninherent boon for multiplayer-centric titles. Still, those who enjoyAvengerscould become interested in trying Square’s other published Marvel game, so it would be good to see them together.
GivenMarvel’s Avengersappearing on Game Passsuggests Square Enix has some kind of deal with Microsoft, it’s easy to imagineGuardians of the Galaxyjoining it. Some could sayGuardians' single-player focus would make Square more hesitant, but titles likeNieR: Automata,Dragon Quest 11, andOctopath Travelerare already on Game Pass to suggest otherwise. In the end, it just seems like good business to expand Eidos Montreal’s potential audience as much as possible if Square wants its Marvel games to succeed.
Guardians of the Galaxylaunches October 26 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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