Now that the second beta weekend for Marvel’s Avengers has come to a close, fans have a better understanding of everything the game has to offer. While flying through the skies as Iron Man or beating up bad guys with Ms. Marvel’s Embiggened hands can be fun, the game has gotten a lot of mixed reviews and faced several controversies (like Spider-Man exclusivity on PlayStation consoles). Marvel’s Avengers is a hot property, only made hotter by the decade-long success of the MCU, and expectations are high. However, Marvel’s Avengers could be setting itself up to be the biggest “successful failure” since Destiny 2.
After selling well initially, Destiny 2’s revenue quickly hit a steady decline, in part because its expansion, Forsaken, had poor sales numbers. The game is now seen by many critics as a successful failure, a term that might seem oxymoronic. All this means, however, is that while Destiny 2 was considered a failure due to declining revenue, it has still turned enough profit to be deemed successful. It’s hard to believe Destiny 2, the second highest-grossing console game of 2017, could be viewed as a failure, but Forsaken sold a fraction of what publisher Activision expected it to, and dissatisfied players began leaving the game in droves earlier this year.
Still, “successful failure” is not a term most companies want used to describe their game. Destiny 2 underperformed enough that it eventually went free-to-play in hopes of enticing more players, and developer Bungie clearly doesn’t want to invest in a third entry. Instead, Bungie is choosing to focus on the current game by altering the ways microtransactions work, putting out new post-launch content, and readying it for release on next-gen consoles.
Will Marvel’s Avengers Repeat Destiny 2’s Mistakes?
While Destiny 2 garnered positive reviews, critics haven’t been so kind to Marvel’s Avengers after the game’s two beta weekends. Mixed reviews don’t equal bad sales, and Marvel’s Avengers has a lot of brand recognition to help it succeed, but the game itself feels a bit empty, a bit repetitive, and a bit lackluster. There’s something holding it back from being a truly great game, and it’s most likely the game’s attempt at being a live service – one that brings in additional characters and content after launch. Its reliance on microtransactions is another worrying aspect, and all of this could combine to create underperforming sales for the game.
There are several similarities between Destiny 2 and Square Enix’s handling of Marvel’s Avengers. Like Destiny 2, Marvel’s Avengers is expected to add a lot of post-launch content and will rely on revenue from microtransactions to turn profits. The lack of content at launch could hurt Avengers‘ sales, as some players will be turned off by a game they don’t see as being a full product. As for microtransactions, they’ve hurt the launches of games like Star Wars: Battlefront 2 even before release (although, in the long run, EA has made a ton of money from it). Some players will be turned off by the idea they’ve paid full price for a game that then asks them to spend more.
It’s a risky move from Square Enix and developer Crystal Dynamics, who seem unable to really build momentum for Marvel’s Avengers, a game that could potentially be the best-selling game of the year. With an IP as recognizable as the Avengers, the game probably won’t flop. What’s more plausible is that the game will become something comparable to Destiny 2, which underperformed expectations but still found a dedicated player base. With only a few weeks away from release, it’s unlikely Square Enix will be able to steer Marvel’s Avengers away from its fate — whatever that may be.
