Marvel Heroes is shutting down. Disney – Marvel’s parent company – have decided to pull the plug on the game. It plans to severe ties with Gazillion Entertainment, the developers of this ARPG MMO. There is no information about when exactly the game servers will go dark. That’s the big news and one that we sadly did not want to hear, even though the signs were there. Only a few weeks ago, many sites including ours reported on what’s keeping Marvel Heroes silent. Alas, it looks like the worst case scenario is becoming a reality for Marvel Heroes players.
In an email confirmation to Kotaku, Marvel says “We regret to inform our Marvel Heroes fans that we have ended our relationship with Gazillion Entertainment, and that the Marvel Heroes games will be shut down,” a rep said. “We would like to sincerely thank the players who joined the Marvel Heroes community, and will provide any further updates as they become available.”
It’s funny looking back at it now, because since its inception in 2013, there’s been nothing like it. Its blend of MOBA + ARPG with superheros provided a fun experience for many. The hero roster was good, and it was constantly being updated. That’s the fun part. Every time a new Marvel movie from the MCU arrived, you could always expect new heroes or skins in-game. Outside of MH, the competition largely includes DC Universe Online, but that’s a full third person MMORPG which offers something different.
Then along came Turbine’s Infinite Crisis, a superhero MOBA that aimed to challenge Marvel Heroes. Needless to say, it failed miserably, not even lasting a year after leaving beta. So Marvel Heroes didn’t have anything to worry about – it still reigns supreme. Until the console mob came knocking at the door. For me personally, that’s when I feel the game started going south. Developers Gazillion made a whole bunch of in-game changes that pointed to a console port, but kept it secret. Why they did so is still a mystery, because majority of the player-base could see it was heading in that direction. Unfortunately, in doing so, they also hit a big red reset button that punished a lot of players who’ve spent money tailoring their builds. And all this for the console port.
That’s just one incident though – I left the game soon after and have not been around in the following months leading up to this. But we know the stories. There have been multiple rounds of layoffs, in addition to no new updates this calendar year. One employee even said that there was content being worked on, but doubted it would ever see the light of day.
But the timing is right. Marvel Heroes had a good run both on the PC and console. Another superhero MMO bites the dust (Too soon City of Heroes fans?). Where does Disney go from here? Remember, they do have plenty choices should they want to make a new Marvel game. The real question is, do they want a new Marvel MMO? The competition will be tough, but I think us Marvel fans are ready for whatever the new game will be.
