Marvel's Avengers
by Crystal Dynamics / Square Enix / Embracer Group
About the Game
A live-service action game featuring the core Avengers roster with ongoing character updates. Sold as a growing universe with years of planned post-launch content.
Why the Developer Killed It
Premium Cosmetics Sold Until Announcement
Players purchased premium skins and DLC hero bundles throughout the game's life. Square Enix continued accepting payments for cosmetic content until the shutdown announcement — leaving buyers with purchases that would become worthless.
Marketed as a Multi-Year Universe
The game was marketed with a 'Marvel's Avengers reassemble' long-term vision. When the player base did not materialise at scale, the roadmap was quietly abandoned years ahead of schedule.
Removed from Sale After Three Years
Unlike permanent-library titles, the game was delisted from all storefronts at shutdown — meaning players who didn't buy it cannot access it at any price, and resale value is zero.
Marvel's Avengers had the most valuable IP in gaming handed to it. Crystal Dynamics had the budget, the licence, and Square Enix's distribution. The product that launched in September 2020 was a live-service brawler with a solid if brief story campaign and a post-launch economy that required ongoing purchases to access new heroes and cosmetics. The IP brought players in; the live-service design failed to keep them.
Square Enix continued to invest in the game — adding Spider-Man as PlayStation-exclusive content, releasing Black Panther and other characters — but the concurrent player count on Steam peaked at around 28,000 and collapsed within months. The player base never recovered. The studio transitioned to Embracer Group ownership, and on September 30 2023, all servers were shut down and the game was removed from sale.
The shutdown affected players who had spent money on premium character bundles and cosmetics in the months preceding the announcement. The game's removal from storefronts means it is now inaccessible to anyone who doesn't already own it, and single-player content — which functions without servers — became inaccessible for users who lost access. For a franchise worth billions, this outcome reflects a fundamental failure of live-service product design and the limits of IP as a substitute for a compelling game loop.
Information sourced from public records, press coverage, and developer announcements.