Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra – Everything we know so far about the upcoming superhero game

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is an upcoming story-driven action-adventure that's coming to us from Marvel Games and Skydance New Media. And before any film fans ask, no, this title isn't part of the newly launched Marvel Phase 6 plan. Instead, the game exists in its own space while also bringing together an ensemble of playable heroes from the Marvel universe. Rise of Hydra will see Captain America team up with Black Panther of the '40s to put a stop to a "sinister plot" in a World War 2 era setting.

Originally slated to be among the new games for 2025 - before recently slipping into 2026 - Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra was initially revealed back in 2021, before briefly popping up during the Disney Marvel 2022 showcase as the then-untitled game featuring "four heroes". It wasn't until the Unreal Engine 2024 event that took place back in March last year that we got our first proper look at the game in a cinematic story trailer, along with confirmation of its Rise of Hydra moniker. As one of many upcoming Marvel games currently in the pipeline, alongside the likes of Marvel's Wolverine and Marvel's Blade, the Captain America-shaped action-adventure is being spearheaded by veteran developer Amy Hennig as creative director and lead writer.

With some details already out in the wild and the recent confirmation of Black Panther 3 as well as Marvel Zombies' highly anticipated TV release, reigniting fans of the franchise, there's plenty to get excited about when it comes to Skydance's story-driven experience. For a complete overview of everything we know so far about all things Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, read on below.

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra release date speculation

We're still waiting on a concrete Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra release date, but it's currently expected to launch in early 2026.

The new Marvel game was originally slated for release sometime in 2025, with a "coming in 2025" closing out the initial story trailer reveal. But Skydance later posted a statement on Twitter confirming that Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra has been delayed into 2026, citing the need for additional time to "add more polish" and "make sure that we give you the best possible experience, and one that lives up to our vision".

While we can only speculate for the time being, "early 2026" tends to cover anytime between January and May. With GTA 6 now set to arrive next year on May 26 (following the news of the GTA 6 delay), perhaps we'll see Rise of Hydra arrive in the months prior if it still ends up falling to this expected launch window. We'll keep you posted as more news heads our way.

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra platforms haven't been confirmed

We've yet to get confirmation on which platforms Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra will be landing on, but it seems likely that it will release on PC, as well as Xbox Series X/S and PS5.

The Switch 2 has been able to run big games pretty dang well, such as Cyberpunk. So we're also curious to see if Rise of Hydra might find its way to join the lineup of upcoming Switch 2 games in the future. There hasn't been any sort of suggestion that it will be a console exclusive so far, but we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for any updates regarding the platforms it will launch on.

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra trailer

The first Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra trailer was unveiled back in 2024, and while it didn't feature much in the way of gameplay, it did give us a closer look at the characters and story of the upcoming adventure, as well as the gritting World War 2-era backdrop. You can watch the story trailer just below to get a taste of what's in store for yourself.

With highly detailed environments, a polished cinematic style, and realistic-looking characters, Amy Hennig stated during a talk that followed the trailer's unveiling at the State of Unreal Engine GDC 2024 showcase that the footage we see isn't "some custom demo" that Skydance made for the show. "That's our game," Hennig says, "all the sequences you just saw in that trailer are all pulled right out of our game, running real-time on Unreal Engine 5, no smoke and mirrors."

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra story

Thanks to the initial trailer and details revealed by Skydance and Marvel Games, we've gotten a pretty clear picture of Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra's story. As the title of the game gives away, the adventure is set in the 1940s Marvel timeline, where Captain America and Azzuri, the Black Panther of that era, are forced to "overcome their differences and form an uneasy alliance to confront their common enemy".

Along the way, they'll also find themselves joining forces with Howling Commandos' Gabriel Jones and a Wakandan spy called Nanali to try and put a stop to a plot that threatens to "turn the havoc of WW2 into the ultimate rise of Hydra". Hennig also revealed during the GDC talk that "part of our story is set in 1940s occupied Paris".

As long-time fans may already know, Hydra is a terrorist organization that fanatically worships a supervillain known as Hive. The antagonistic group has popped up in various Marvel comics and movies over the years, including Captain America: The First Avenger. We don't yet know how each leading character comes to be involved in the adventure, but we're looking forward to learning more.

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra gameplay

We haven't seen much in the way of Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra gameplay, but we do know it promises to be a story-driven adventure that will feature four heroes who will each be playable at "different points in the story". That means that we won't just have the chance to throw Captain America's shield, we'll also get to take on the role of the Black Panther, as well as Gabriel Jones and Nanali.

While we've still yet to glean how much combat or action the game will actually include, or how it'll play, the trailer shows off the characters' skillsets, with Azzuri aka Black Panther, leaping over rooftops and taking out foes from behind with finesse, while Captain America uses his signature shield and throws some punches. With different roles to play, it looks and sounds like we can expect some gameplay variety.

While we're still waiting to get a better idea of the gameplay, Skydance revealed "some exciting things" are in store following the news of the game's delay, and the development team "looks forward to sharing more soon".

With the end of the year fast approaching, we may get shown more information on the game shortly. In fact, there have been some supposed leaks recently, so maybe we'll get some updates as a result. A bunch of leaked images were shared (via Mp1st) that you can see for yourself down below.

The images above show us some environments and combat. It's pretty far along considering that these supposed images are from 2022 and 2023. We are now keeping an eye out to see if Skydance addresses these pics, so stay tuned for updates.

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra characters

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra will star four main heroes. First up is a young Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America, who's joined by T'Challa's grandfather, Azzuri, who's the WW2-era Black Panther. We'll also get to know Gabriel Jones, a US soldier and member of the Howling Commandos, a "monster squad" of S.H.I.E.L.D agents who are said to have supernatural powers. Then there's Nanali, a Wakandan spy "embedded in occupied Paris" who completes the quartet.

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra development

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is believed to have been in the works since 2021, and is helmed by Amy Hennig, a veteran developer who previously worked at The Last Of Us studio, Naughty Dog. Hennig is known for work on some of the best adventure games of all time, including the likes of Uncharted and Jak and Daxter. With tenure at Crystal Dynamics, Hennig has also worked on the likes of Legacy of Kain, and interestingly is also attached to one of the big upcoming Star Wars games on the way - which is said to be a narrative-driven experience.

We also know Rise of Hydra is being developed on Unreal Engine 5. During the GDC State of Unreal 2024 talk, Hennig spoke on how the team at Skydance is utilizing the features of Unreal Engine 5.4: "Thanks to Epic and the Unreal Engine development team, we've been able to leverage some of the new Nanite and Lumen features being released in 5.4. And honestly, this is really helping our team achieve a level of visual fidelity that enables us to present this authentically grounded Marvel universe".

Looking to get caught up on the MCU or relive some of the best Marvel movies all over again? Be sure to check out our guide on all of the Marvel Movies in order. Or see what's ahead in our roundup of upcoming Marvel movies and shows.