Hawkeye is coming to Marvel's Avengers as a free post-launch character

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You'll unlock him rather than purchase him

Hawkeye will come to Marvel's Avengers in a free post-launch update.

"We've taken some exciting ideas from it," a trailer says of My Life as a Weapon. "So much so that Hawkeye has his own in-depth story mission chain, and it is unique from the campaign because it can be played in co-op or solo." 

Hawkeye was described as one way that Marvel's Avengers "will continue to grow after launch," but Crystal Dynamics didn't clarify when exactly he will arrive. A timeline shown on-stream suggests he'll be the second DLC character, but that's both unclear and subject to change.

However, we do know that he – and other post-launch updates – will be a free unlockable character rather than part of purchasable DLC. There will be six heroes at launch, and four more – three apart from Hawkeye – are coming in the immediate future. Who those heroes will be are anyone's guess. The Avengers universe has a wealth of characters to pull from, and with Crystal Dynamics clearly dipping into the comics as much as the films, there's absolutely no telling. 

Hawkeye was the biggest newcomer, but the focus of today's reveal was the Marvel's Avengers beta, and we've got everything you need to know about its start times, content, rewards, and more. 

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.