Publisher Square Enix was openly disappointed with the performance of Marvel's Avengers, which was released in the summer of 2020 to middling reviews. Two and a half years later, this live-service superhero game is on its last content update and will end active support by the end of the year.

According to a blog post from developer Crystal Dynamics (opens in new tab), "The Avengers" will receive its final balance update in March; when update 2.8 is released on March 31, the studio will shut down the game's cosmetic marketplace, and will no longer be able to offer players the same content and support they have received before, convert players' remaining credits into in-game resources.

However, these premium cosmetics will not be unavailable, as Crystal Dynamics says it will provide all premium cosmetics to all players: according to the development team, starting March 31, "Marketplace, challenge cards, shipments, all outfits, takedowns, emotes and nameplates will be available to all players for free".

After that, "official support" for "Marvel's Avengers" will end on September 30, but it will not be unplayable. According to Crystal Dynamics, both single-player and multiplayer modes will remain accessible after September 30, at least until something major goes wrong.

"The changes we're making to the game's functionality will allow you to play for as long as possible," said Crystal Dynamics' CEO, David H. Harris. However, there is no guarantee that we will be able to address any issues caused by unforeseen circumstances after September 30, 2023." [Marvel's Avengers will no longer be available for digital purchase after September 30; Marvel's Avengers is also available on Game Pass, but the studio said, "All changes described in this blog will apply to Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Extras versions," presumably meaning that it will be removed from these services at the end of September. A blog post from Crystal Dynamics describes additional details related to Avengers players.

Back in 2021, we predicted that Marvel's Avengers would not go far, despite containing "some of Crystal Dynamics' best work." To be fair, however, it will get three years of support before September arrives, not bad for a game that was called a disappointment by its publisher less than a year after its release.

Last year, Square Enix, along with Eidos-Montréal and Square Enix Montréal, sold Crystal Dynamics to Embracer Group. The studio is currently working on a new Tomb Raider game, which will be published by Amazon.