Electronic Arts still plans to release three games based on Marvel licenses owned by Disney.
Recently, it was reported that EA had canceled the Black Panther game and closed Cliffhanger Studios, the developer of the game. This immediately called into question the status of EA’s other Marvel-based projects, such as Motive Studios’ Iron Man game. Both Marvel and Electronic Arts released statements to IGN that show the collaboration between the two companies remains strong. The publisher is committed to making three Marvel-based games and has already agreed to release them in 2022.
The three games were originally supposed to be EA Motive’s Iron Man game, Cliffhanger’s Black Panther game, and a third, unannounced title. Iron Man is still in development, and, as far as we know, there has been no announcement regarding the game’s status. Laura Miele, president of EA Entertainment, said their partnership with Marvel remains strong, and the long-term collaboration, including multiple titles, will continue. A Marvel spokesperson said: “The multi-title, long-term relationship between Marvel Games and EA, a creative collaboration focused on original storytelling with various beloved Marvel characters, remains strong. Development of our console and PC titles, beginning with Marvel’s Iron Man, is led by Motive Studios.”
Therefore, after Iron Man, Motive Studios has two more games based on Marvel characters. Whether these games will actually be released is another question, of course. If they fail with Iron Man—and given that Marvel’s Avengers failed with Crystal Dynamics/Eidos Montreal, it’s possible—likely, they will eventually cancel the other projects. Admittedly, this is the less likely scenario, as Motive has an incredibly talented team, and there’s no indication that they’re trying to force unwanted live-service features onto the single-player Iron Man game.
Both Motive and Respawn are in a similar situation: each studio is committed to making three games based on Disney-owned franchises. With the release of Respawn’s third Star Wars Jedi game and Motive’s third Marvel game, Electronic Arts may move away from licensed games, as CEO Andrew Wilson has suggested.
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