Marvel’s Avengers is in the endgame now. Developer Crystal Dynamics has announced that it will cease developing the live-service superhero game on March 31, 2023. The game itself will then be taken off stores on September 30, 2023.
Under the then-publisher Square Enix, the action brawler was released in September 2020 on PC and last-gen consoles, followed by a current-gen release in March 2021. Crystal Dynamics and its projects transferred over to Embracer Group as part of Square Enix’s sale of its western studios last year.
“Update 2.7, which added the Winter Soldier Hero and Cloning Lab Omega-Level Threat, is the last new content to be added to the game,” said the developer today. “No new cosmetics are coming to the Marketplace, and all final balance updates will occur in Update 2.8 in March.”
Thankfully for fans, the game will remain playable in both single-player and multiplayer even after its removal from stores in September, though it’s unclear for how long. Purchased Credits will also be converted to in-game resources with the March update.
As a part of this shutdown procedure, Crystal Dynamics will be making all available paid cosmetic content completely free as a show of appreciation for fans. This includes every “outfit, Takedown, Emote, and Nameplate from the Marketplace, Challenge Cards, and Shipments” being given to owners of the game as well as Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Extra subscribers.
“Gifting the full library of Marketplace cosmetic content is a way to thank our community by letting everyone experience the breadth and depth of content in Marvel’s Avengers,” added the studio.
A handy FAQ detailing Avengers‘ disassembly process can be found on the announcement blog post here, which also confirms Spider-Man will remain a PlayStation exclusive hero even after these changes.
Crystal Dynamics is currently developing a new Tomb Raider with support from Amazon Games while it is also working on the Perfect Dark reboot with Microsoft’s The Initiative studio.