Marvel Gaming Universe Plan Fails to Secure Disney Funding

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has transformed entertainment with its interconnected films and TV shows, weaving a cohesive, long-running narrative. However, Marvel video games remain standalone, with no shared universe. For instance, Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man series is entirely separate from Eidos-Montreal’s Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Upcoming titles like Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, Marvel's Wolverine, and Marvel’s Blade also lack any narrative connections.

Disney once envisioned a Marvel Gaming Universe to mirror the MCU’s success in video games. So, what went wrong?

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On The Fourth Curtain podcast, host Alexander Seropian and guest Alex Irvine, both involved in the MGU concept, discussed why it never materialized.

Seropian, a co-founder of Bungie, known for Halo and Destiny, later led Disney’s video game division until 2012. Irvine, a key writer for Marvel games, recently contributed world-building, dialogue, and character backstories to the hit Marvel Rivals.

Reflecting on his work, Irvine shared details about the abandoned MGU.

“When I began working on Marvel games, there was a vision to create a Marvel Gaming Universe, much like the MCU,” Irvine said. “It never came to fruition.”

Seropian revealed the MGU was his “initiative” but lacked funding from Disney’s leadership.

“At Disney, I pushed for connecting these games,” Seropian explained. “This was before the MCU took off, but it didn’t get the financial backing.”

Irvine, who previously worked on Bungie’s Halo ARG I Love Bees, elaborated on the MGU’s potential.

“It was frustrating because we had so many exciting ideas,” he said.

“Fresh off ARGs, I thought, ‘What if we added ARG elements?’ We imagined a shared hub where all games connected, allowing players to move between titles. We could tie in comics, create original content, or link anything. But, as Alex noted, funding never came through, so we just made individual games.”

Why did the MGU fail to gain traction? Irvine suggested its complexity deterred Disney executives.

“We grappled with questions like, ‘How does the MGU differ from the comics or movies? How do we ensure consistency?’ Those complexities overwhelmed some at Disney, who weren’t eager to tackle them,” Irvine explained.

It’s tantalizing to consider what the MGU could have been with proper funding. Perhaps Insomniac’s Spider-Man games would have shared a universe with Square Enix’s Marvel's Avengers and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, featuring character crossovers or building toward a grand, Endgame-like event.

Looking forward, uncertainty surrounds Insomniac’s Marvel's Wolverine. Will it share the same universe as Marvel’s Spider-Man? Might Spider-Man or other characters appear in Wolverine?

Ultimately, the MGU remains a missed opportunity in gaming history. Perhaps, in another reality, it thrives…