Crystal Dynamics confirms work on Marvel's Avengers is ending

Update:

Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that development on Marvel's Avengers is ending and that no further updates will be released after version 2.8 goes live in March.

This comes just a couple of hours after a report surfaced claiming an announcement from Crystal Dynamics could come as early as next week. Seemingly in response, the studio has released a statement on Marvel's Avengers' official website that confirms work on the game is ending.

Following the release of Update 2.8 on March 31, there won't be any new content or features, and then on September 30, 2023, the developers will stop supporting the game entirely. Likewise, the cosmetics shop will also be closing on March 31, at which point credits will no longer be purchasable and all remaining balances will be converted into in-game resources. Click here for a chart showing how your credits will be converted.

Crystal Dynamics also revealed that, "as a show of appreciation," all cosmetics from the in-game marketplace, Challenge Card, and Shipments system will be available for all players free of charge.

"We know this is disappointing news as everyone in our community has such a connection to these characters and their stories. We're so, so grateful that you came on this adventure with us. Your excitement for Marvel's Avengers - from your epic Photo Mode shots, to your threads theorizing who our next Heroes would be, to your Twitch streams - has played a large part in bringing this game to life."
Development on Marvel's Avengers is reportedly set to end soon, which would effectively bring an end to support for the troubled superhero game.

Original story:

The official announcement that Avengers support is ending "could come as early as next week," according to a new report from Exputer. The report suggests that the game would get a set of updates removing time gating and overhauling cosmetic microtransactions to streamline the current experience. The game would remain available for sale on digital marketplaces until "at least September" and the devs are said to be working on keeping the game playable for "as long as possible".

We've reached out to developer Crystal Dynamics for more information and will update this story if we learn more.

The report claims the team working on Avengers has been steadily shrinking, particularly as the studio moves into full production on the next Tomb Raider game. That would leave some planned Avengers content - like the leaked She-Hulk character - on the cutting room floor.

The Avengers game launched to no shortage of criticism, with complaints levied against its convoluted endgame progression and severe technical issues, particularly on PC. Nonetheless, the devs kept putting out a surprisingly robust amount of content updates in the years since launch, even if some recent cosmetic additions have proven pretty disappointing.

Crystal Dynamics has been in a period of notable change, as the studio was sold by previous owner Square Enix to Embracer Group in May 2022. While Embracer owns the studio itself, the new Tomb Raider will be published by Amazon Games.

Maybe one of the big new games 2023 will fill that Avengers-shaped hole.