Friday’sDisney and Marvel Games Showcasebrought with it the expectation of some massive announcements and reveals, and it was not out of the realm of possibility that games such asStar Wars Jedi: Fallen OrderorMarvel’s Spider-Man 2could make an appearance. It had already been confirmed that several games would appear in some regard, such asDisney Dreamlight Valley,LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, andMarvel’s Midnight Suns. But with bothDisneyand Marvel in the showcase’s name, speculation stirred about some of the industry’s most anticipated games.
Instead, the Disney and Marvel Games Showcase concentrated its presentation on niche announcements. This included the mobile gameMarvel World of Heroes, the visual novelTron: Identity, andtheMario Kart-esqueDisney Speedstorm. Its most sizable announcement, or at least the most anticipated, was the reveal of Skydance’s Marvel game. However, that game did not even share its title, and its details remain obscure besides who its four playable protagonists are. Therefore, the absence of games such asStar Wars Jedi: SurvivorandMarvel’s Spider-Man 2was definitely felt.
RELATED:Marvel and Skydance Working on World War 2 Game with Captain America and Black Panther
Respawn Entertainment Bowing Out Entirely is Surprising
A sequel toStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderwas officially confirmed a while back, but has only recently been revealed asStar Wars Jedi: SurvivorduringMay’s Star Wars Celebration event. Lucasfilm had a relatively small outing at the showcase, where there were surprisingly no new game announcements or reveals for Star Warsaside from theLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Galactic Edition.
This could have been a wonderful opportunity forStar Wars Jedi: Survivorto share another teaser or even a full trailer, but Respawn likely has other designs in mind for when and where it will be presented. Moreover, Respawn could have unveiled theStar WarsFPSit has in development, or any of the multipleStar Warsgames in development could have been shared. Instead, it seems as though the expectation for what would be shown at the Disney and Marvel Games Showcase should have been a lot lower, to the degree that it would temper what fans should have anticipated.
Nowhere did the showcase explicitly state that otherStar WarsIPs would be present, but that was always a possibility due to the specificity of only Disney and Marvel titles being displayed. Respawndid not end up appearing after all, in any capacity, and it is unknown when it will finally release a full-length trailer. Still, its marketing must begin sometime this year ifthe rumors of a Spring 2023 release date forStar Wars Jedi: Survivorare indeed true.
RELATED:Industry Insider Claims Dead Space Devs Working on EA’s Iron Man Game
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Has a Good Excuse for its Absence
On the other hand,Marvel’s Spider-Man 2was also likely on anyone’s wishlist to appear at the Disney and Marvel Games Showcase. Insomniac’s upcoming wall-crawler epic is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated Marvel games that has been announced, and it would have pleased fans to see it appear at an event centered around Marvel Games content.
It is unfortunate that Insomniac did not make an appearance either, but at least there is a reasonable excuse for why Marvel fans should not have expected it to be at the Disney and Marvel Games Showcase in the first place. Insomniac’s Spider-Man teasers and trailers will almost assuredly be retained to PlayStation or Sony conferences and pressers, as wasMarvel’s Spider-Man 2’s initial reveal at the September 2021 PlayStation Showcase.
That reveal and showcase had occurred roughly one year ago, andfans had expected that another PlayStation Showcase would be announcedand air a day before the Disney and Marvel Games Showcase. This obviously did not come to pass, but it is certainly whereMarvel’s Spider-Man 2would have appeared instead, and the game could be shown off whenever the long-rumored Showcase finally happens.
MORE:Every Game Announcement at the Disney and Marvel Games Showcase
