Square Enix President Gets Honest About Marvel's Avengers

After a little over a year since "Marvel's Avengers" bombed in sales, Square Enix is finally willing to talk about the middling Marvel game – only the is clearly not the conversation the company wanted to have about the game. During Square Enix's 2021 annual report, President Yosuke Matsuda shared his thoughts on the company's biggest hits and misses over the last 12 months in a message to shareholders. While highlights like the critically acclaimed "Final Fantasy 7 Remake" softened the blow on Square Enix's bottom line, Matsuda didn't shy away from talking about "Marvel's Avengers" and discussing its reception.

Square Enix's president called "Marvel's Avengers" an "ambitious title" for the company, as the game took a risk with a games as a service (GaaS) model. Citing the fact that the game was developed as the company adapted to pandemic-induced working conditions, Matsuda also pointed out that certain "game designs" don't exactly "mesh" with Square Enix's development model. But did Matsuda feel like there anything good to come out of "Marvel's Avengers?"

Matsuda commented that the team was ultimately able to figure out the new normal of working during COVID-19 lockdowns, but the game did not reach the heights Square Enix had hoped for. Turning things around a little, Matsuda continued, "Nonetheless, taking on the GaaS model highlighted issues that we are likely to face in future game development efforts..." Believing that GaaS are a keystone of the future gaming industry, Matsuda sees some optimism in the issues "Marvel's Avengers" ultimately faced, because now Square Enix knows its most significant weaknesses in the genre.

Although the game's playerbase fell off the face of the earth earlier this year, there's a chance that everyone's favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-Man could revive some interest in the game. According to a new announcement on the official "Marvel's Avengers" site, the long-awaited Spider-Man DLC is set to arrive on Nov. 30 for PlayStation gamers. It remains to be seen whether or not this DLC can redeem the game from being called a failure by its own publisher.