Earlier this week, we learned that Spider-Man would be coming to "Marvel's Avengers" in a post-launch update. As you might imagine, this news was not particularly well received by fans of non-Sony platforms.1]

In an interview with Newsweek, Crystal Dynamics boss Scot Amos tried to explain why such a fan-favorite character would be tied to a single Attempting to explain why it was tied to a single platform, he said, "It comes down to the relationship between PlayStation and Marvel."

"We've been working with Marvel for a long time," he said, "and we've been working with them for a long time.

"We are the ones who happen to be able to execute and deliver when faced with the choice of where and what Spider-Man could be, and it is a matter of a relationship that we know PlayStation absolutely has the rights to, and Sony's ownership of (the film rights) As you guys with the [film rights] know, Sony and Marvel said, 'Hey, this is something we can do, this is something we can do on this platform, and as creators, we have this opportunity to make something unique, fun, and amazing, and we're going to do it.

The "movie rights" comment refers to the sometimes contentious relationship between (among others) Marvel Studios, which produces Marvel movies, and Sony Pictures, which by the magic of big business has come to own the rights to the Spider-Man movies. For example, this is why there are no Avengers cameos in the pre-Tom Holland Spider-Man films, and why it took so long for Spidey to connect with the Avengers.

In 2019, there was a flap between Sony and Marvel's parent company, Disney, that threatened to remove Spider-Man from the Marvel Cinematic Universe again, but as Variety reported, it was repaired fairly quickly. Sony, however, still retains the character on its own.

In a separate interview with IGN, Amos hinted that Spider-Man's absence on other platforms is not really a big deal because there are so many other things to do. He said, "There are so many heroes in Marvel's Avengers, and with the scope and breadth of this game and universe, players will have their hands full with so much to play with."

And for fans who really, really want to play as Spider-Man, he had a simple piece of advice: "There is an option to do so on PlayStation."

Sony's licensing agreement explains the Spider-Man exclusivity, but it doesn't end there: PlayStation owners will get a month of advance access to the new characters released for the game, and PS Plus subscribers, different costumes, name plates, bundle for each new hero, including 100 in-game credits.Marvel's Avengers will be released on September 4.