Many games have found inaugural and/or renewed success through Xbox Game Pass, thanks to a ton of factors. Xbox Game Pass is relatively cheap, unique, wide-reaching, and fairly popular amongst gaming enthusiasts. Of course, addingMarvel’s Avengersto Game Pass seemed like the logical next step for the game, considering it’s launch reception and post-launch struggles. Lower player counts post-launch, lacking post-game content, and long hangtime between content updates, all have contributed to the game’s falling off since last fall.Marvel’s Avengershas continued to struggle since release, even for diehard fans who want to enjoy the game.
This is presumably where Xbox Game Pass comes into play.Marvel’s Avengers, since its initial console and PC release, has jumped on PlayStation Now’s streaming subscription service, so there is precedent for the game eventually making its way to Game Pass. However, considering Xbox Game Pass is much more popular and successful compared to PlayStation Now specifically, things could be very different forAvengerson Game Pass. Both in the short-term and long-term, Xbox Game Pass could help boostMarvel’s Avengersinitial popularity and enduring success. However, that success is heavily contingent on howAvengersshapes up in the future.
RELATED:Marvel’s Avengers Confirms Captain America Infinity War Skin
Avengers' Post-Launch Has Struggled
Unlike obvious comparisons to games likeCyberpunk 2077,Marvel’s Avengershad a relatively successful launch. Admittedly there were a few performance issues ironed out shortly after launch, though not nearly as comparable toCyberpunk 2077’s launch issues. Thousands of players flocked to the game at launch, though it wasn’t even a month later wherereports ofAvengersplayer counts were dropping dramatically. The problem wasn’t necessarily due to technical issues at launch, as players often cited (and continue to cite) fundamental issues with the game’s live service design: Unenticing loot-driven progression, and a repetitive endgame with little mission variety.
The only thing thatCyberpunk 2077andMarvel’s Avengersused to have in common was the hope that a major DLC update/expansion would serve to revitalize the game,akin to what The Taken King did forDestiny.Avengersin particular was poised to receive a huge boost with War for Wakanda, which released back in August of this year. While the new campaign and titular hero addition was interesting for a short while, War for Wakanda still did nothing to alleviate the loot and endgame issuesAvengersstill continues to struggle with. Greater accessibility and new players can only help the game so far until Crystal Dynamics enhances or overhauls the gameplay loop.
Xbox Game Pass Could Be A Short-Term Boon For Avengers
Xbox Game Pass as a vehicle for accessibility and sucesss needs to be paired alongside a renewed approach to further developingMarvel’s Avengersas a live service game. IfAvengersmaintains the same pattern of releasing huge story updates, without addressing loot and progression issues, struggling to foster and maintain player count will be a consistent problem for Crystal Dynamics.War for Wakanda being a free update was a good first step, but additional stories cannot take nearly as long to be added toAvengers, especially without any significant gameplay changes as well.
Of course, this is all determined by the notion that Crystal Dynamics will continue tosupportAvengerswell into its life as a live service game.Marvel’s Avengersneeds to refresh its core gameplay loop of missions and objectives in the post-game, alongside loot changes, in order to bring back more players. One of the main criticisms of progression inAvengerswas the fact that the loot progression was not at all justified by the equipment players could find. Continually iterating on that same loop will more than likely make the addition to Game Pass all for naught. Even if it’s easier for new players to jump in, that doesn’t mean they’ll stay if they find the same issues.
RELATED:What’s Next After Marvel’s Avengers: War for Wakanda
The Long-Term Benefits of Avengers On Game Pass Remain To Be Seen
On the flip side, assumingMarvel’s Avengerscan make the necessary changes and overhaul the gameplay loop into something that encourages replayability, thenXbox Game Pass will only benefitAvengersmoving forward. Greater availability goes a long way to sustaining a positive player count; more players, more people playing. It’s simple in concept, but execution is whereAvengersis currently struggling the most. Part of that is due to development taking longer than expected, likely due to issues with the pandemic and resources, but it’s causing key features and content updates on the roadmap (Patrol Mode, Wakanda Raid, etc.) to be delayed indefinitely.
Avengerscould easily bounce back, assuming Crystal Dynamics is working towards a complete and total revamping of the game as it exists currently. The addition to Xbox Game Pass could be a preemptive move toprepare for the future ofMarvel’s Avengers, making the game widely available for when the time comes to unveil the next content roadmap. Until then, however, there may not be a whole lot of long-term benefits withAvengersbeing added to Xbox Game Pass until Crystal Dynamics has more to share for the future of the game. In the short-term, hopefully Xbox Game Pass will at least net the game a small boost of new players in the meantime.
Marvel’s Avengersis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE:Marvel’s Avengers' Spider-Man DLC May Be a Make or Break Release
