Marvel’s Avengers faces backlash over Spider-Man PlayStation exclusive
Crystal Dynamics via SonyMarvel’s Avengers is going to welcome the web-slinging Spider-Man to the lineup as post-launch DLC exclusive to PlayStation, drawing strong reactions from the larger gaming community.
Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have slowly been ramping up to the highly-anticipated release of their Avengers title that will offer an immersive way to experience the legendary Marvel universe as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
However, Sony announced on August 3 that Spider-Man will join the collective of champions announced so far – including Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Ms. Marvel, and Hawkeye – exclusively on PlayStation.
“We can’t wait for you to add Spider-Man to your Marvel’s Avengers roster in early 2021, and as we’ve promised before, he will be available at no additional cost to owners of the base game, exclusively on PlayStation,” a PlayStation blog post read.
SonyThough the idea of Spider-Man coming for free on top of the base game is as sensational as the hero himself, general audiences have been critical of the wall-crawler being tied down to one platform.
“Just cancelled my pre-order for this and will not be purchasing it,” one person wrote on Twitter. “I do not typically do pre orders and this confirms why I shouldn’t. Either make Spider-Man available to all platforms or you’ll see more people say no.”
Sony and Insomniac Games previously teamed up for 2018’s mega-hit Marvel’s Spider-Man, which introduced the web-head exclusively to PlayStation. A follow-up title focusing on Miles Morales is set for a PlayStation 5 release and will continue the “Marvel’s Spider-Man universe” on the new platform.
But now the multi-platform Square Enix game will have a distinct omission in the lineup of heroes on Xbox and PC. The move is being regarded as anti-consumer, with more fans sounding off on the decision.
this is stupid and very anti consumer… didn't imagine Sony would go that low
— teemo is fun 🇧🇷 🏳️🌈 (@teemoisfun_) August 3, 2020
“I like console exclusive games, they’re brilliant,” another person wrote. “I hate console exclusive content to games that are multi platform. It’s just a sucker punch to your fans.”
Marvel’s Avengers is set to launch on September 4 on PlayStation 4 & 5, Stadia, Xbox One and Xbox Series X, as well as Microsoft Windows systems. The Spider-Man DLC is slated for an early 2021 release.