EA And Marvel’s Collaboration “Remains Strong” After Black Panther Cancellation, EA Still Committed To Making Three Games Based On Marvel Characters

We learned yesterday that EA had canceled its Black Panther game and shut down the team that was working on it, Cliffhanger Studios. This immediately put into question the status of EA’s other Marvel-based projects, like Motive Studios’ Iron Man game.

However, according to statements from Marvel and EA that were sent to IGN, the collaboration between the two companies “remains strong,” and EA is still committed to making three games based on Marvel characters, as they previously agreed to in 2022.

Originally, the three games would be EA Motive’s Iron Man game, Cliffhanger’s Black Panther game, and a third unannounced title. The Iron Man game is still in development, and, as far as we know right now, is still planned to be released.

“Our partnership with Marvel remains strong and our multi-title, long-term collaboration continues,” said EA Entertainment president Laura Miele in a statement.

For Marvel’s part, a spokesperson for the company said, “The multi-title, long-term relationship between Marvel Games and EA, a creative collaboration focused on original storytelling with various, beloved Marvel characters, remains strong. Development of our console and PC titles, beginning with Marvel’s Iron Man, is led by Motive Studios.”

So after the Iron Man game, it sounds like, at least for now, Motive Studios is on the hook for two more games based on a Marvel character. Whether we actually get those games is another question. If the Iron Man game flops, it wouldn’t be surprising if the other projects are canceled. Marvel’s Avengers definitively proved that putting big-name comic book characters in a video game does not guarantee success in today’s MCU-led market.

But that’s the less likely scenario, since Motive has an incredibly talented team and there are no signs that it will try to mash a bunch of unwanted live service-focused features into its single-player Iron Man game.

Which seemingly puts Motive Studios in a similar position to Respawn, with both studios locked into making three games based on Disney-owned franchises. Once the third Star Wars Jedi title from Respawn and the third Marvel game from Motive are out, EA might finally move entirely away from making games based on licensed series, as chief executive officer Andrew Wilson talked about. Sorry to all Star Wars Battlefront III hopefuls.