The time is right for Marvel vs Capcom to return

Now, I know what you’re probably thinking. And, y’know, you’re right – Marvel vs Capcom hasn’t even been gone that long. The last entry in the series, the incredibly tepid MvC Infinite, released a little over five years ago. But sometimes the stars align, the universe speaks, and a comeback feels appropriate sooner rather than later. This is one such occasion.

It’d be easy to argue, on paper, that Marvel vs Capcom Infinite actually came out at the best possible time. I beg to differ, though. In fact, many of the things that some would argue positioned it as a winner were in fact major components of its downfall.

MvC3: Fate of Two Worlds released six months before Avengers dropped and solidified Marvel’s place at the center of pop culture for the next decade. Infinite released while the world was in the grip of Marvel-mania – and that had a debilitating effect. Make no mistake that every single aspect of the game will have been impacted by this – the roster, its mechanics, its Thanos-heavy story. The relationship between Capcom and Marvel likely morphed from relatively equal partners back in the earliest X-Men vs Street Fighter games to Marvel dictating do’s and don’ts at every level of the game’s production.

Infinite had two feelings about it, really. It has the feeling of being a game that was being pulled in too many directions creatively, probably because of the stakeholders involved – and it also had the distinct feeling of being cheap and unfinished, almost like once differences couldn’t be fully bridged the game got phoned in for a contractual obligation. The way the game was dropped unceremoniously after a single ‘season’ of DLC, with further character packs (which I had at the time heard about in detail) quietly canceled was the ultimate demonstration of this.

But just five years later, things have changed. A couple of years after Infinite, Avengers Endgame capped off the first major ‘era’ of the MCU… and even Kevin Feige has struggled to restart the engine since. Some would say it’s circling the plughole, what with the utterly disastrous state of projects like Secret Invasion. People still like the MCU, but it hasn’t delivered a true must-see blockbuster since Endgame. But for gaming, that might be a good thing.

This sort of dip in the popularity and relevance of the MCU – its slide from the center of pop culture to simply being a major icon – actually creates room for alternative takes. I can’t help but wonder if Eidos Montreal’s excellent Guardians of the Galaxy might stand a better chance now the film series is over than it did back in 2021. Hell, I even bet Crystal Dynamics’ Avengers would’ve been a little more accepted in the current climate; people who ‘miss’ the golden-age MCU era could’ve seen it as a chance to play as that same squad.

It’s true that other games were successful while the MCU was reigning high – but often, those circumstances are subtly different. I firmly believe that as well as doing an excellent job, Insomniac had a much easier time ‘selling’ their alt Spider-Man because audiences became as used to Spider-Man changing faces as they are James Bond, with Sony offering three live action interpretations and a bunch of different animations in just twenty years.

Anyway, I digress – the point is, I think the space is now more friendly for Marvel vs Capcom. I think the audience could be more receptive, not less, despite the MCU’s decline. I dare say that a slightly more retiring Capcom would probably make an easier development partner, too – and Disney has beefed up its games team in the interim.

Plus, there’s the man-elephant in the room – Capcom itself has just improved. This is a company on an absolute charge to the summit. It is, without a doubt, one of the most important, successful, and high-quality third party publishers in the game. After a couple of really embarrassing fighting game blunders, Street Fighter 6 isn’t just great – it might be the best Street Fighter, or even possibly the best fighting game package, ever. There is a template here that MvC could follow.

Fans want it, too. This weekend at the Evolution Championship Series tournament, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 has set a new series entrant registration record – despite the game being a solid eleven years old. There’s a bunch of fighting games at EVO, and really all eyes are on the eye-wateringly large, record-obliterating SF6 tournament – but make no mistake – there is nothing there, from any publisher, that is quite like Marvel. And the time may just be ripe for the two companies to give it another shot.