Game developer Firaxis has put together a playable version of “Marvel-XCOM” incredibly quickly (and since it’s the same team behind the XCOM games, that’s not even a sarcastic statement).

Luke Wiltshire was the lucky player whose last wish was granted by Firaxis, 2K (=Take-Two), and Marvel (=Disney). This story was reported by Gamesindustry. The fan was diagnosed with a rare cancer type when he was only 14. He had a passion for Marvel and games, but after nine years of treatment, there was no cure for him, and he didn’t have much time left. He had three last wishes: a puppy to be raised by his mother after his death, a pig roast, and to play Marvel’s Midnight Suns.

The twist was that Firaxis is not in the UK (like Wiltshire) but in Baltimore, Maryland. It was here that Solving Kids’ Cancer, a charity that had previously helped Wiltshire’s family after being approached by Claire, Luke’s sister, stepped in. Gail Jackson, the foundation’s CEO, published a post on LinkedIn, hoping someone could help her: “I was amazed by the response. People reshared it and shared it in their networks. I started getting messages. I got a message from Disney and different gaming companies. After a couple of weeks, an email dropped into my inbox from some company called 2K, which I had never heard of. They had seen my post and wanted to know how they could help,” Jackson said.

2K’s community team rolled on the case, but there was a hitch: there was no playable game build, and Wiltshire didn’t have much time left. That’s when Firaxis, 2K, and Marvel put together a playable version in 24 hours. 2K’s community manager, Asim Tanvir, went to Wiltshire’s house to let him play the game on his laptop. Wiltshire also found out that he had been named as a game design consultant (which is how he appeared in the game’s credits). In a video call, 2K and Firaxis developers were joined on a video call by Marvel Games creative director Bill Rosemann to share some stories with Wiltshire.

The game features a tree with “Luke Was Here” engraved on it. When Wiltshire heard it, he said he would be “immortalized in Marvel forever.” Luke Wiltshire passed away on November 12, 2021. An honest story, no doubt.

Source: VG247