Marvel’s Avengers’ PlayStation-exclusive Spider-Man has been delayed

The developer of Marvel’s Avengers has confirmed that PlayStation’s exclusive Spider-Man content won’t release until later this year, which represents a delay from its original scheduling.

At the time of its announcement in August 2020, the playable Spider-Man character was due to be added to the Marvel’s Avengers roster in “early 2021”.

A delay was always likely after Marvel’s Avengers’ troubled launch resulted in the release of the game’s first two new characters being pushed back, along with the launch of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of the title.

However, it was only officially confirmed this week when Crystal Dynamics released its Marvel’s Avengers 2021 content roadmap, which includes no mention of Spider-Man at all.

The content roadmap is arguably headlined by a newly announced Black Panther expansion coming to all players during “summer and beyond”, and Crystal Dynamics told IGN there’s no chance that Spider-Man will arrive before then.

“I can tell you that, formally, officially, people are working on him right now,” studio head Scot Amos told IGN. “So it is still on our roadmap for the future.”

While it’s still possible Spider-Man could be added to the game after Black Panther and before the end of 2021, Amos said the content roadmap represents what the studio can commit to delivering in the near-term.

“But there are people working on [him] and we still fully expect Spider-Man to come to PlayStation,” he added.

Crystal Dynamics’ associate art director, Jeff Adams, gave fans a taste of what to expect from the Spider-Man content in a PlayStation Blog announcement post last August.

“When Spider-Man comes to our stable of heroes, we’ll be marking his debut with an in-game event that will introduce him to the wider world of Marvel’s Avengers,” he wrote. “The event is comprised of a series of unique challenges for the hero to take on, testing his abilities, and yielding some exciting results.

“And like the rest of our heroes in Marvel’s Avengers, we will offer multiple cosmetic outfits and gameplay experience options, so you can make your vision of the wall crawler a reality.”

Further reading

Marvel Avengers’ PS4 box now boasts its Spider-Man exclusivity

PlayStation version will have significant exclusive content, including the new character

Amos previously raised eyebrows when he was asked how Xbox and PC gamers who want to play as Spider-Man should feel.

“I would say that Marvel’s Avengers has a lot of heroes,” he replied, “and with the scope and the breadth of this game and this universe, players are going to have their hands full with a lot to play with.”

Amos added: “And for those players who absolutely want to play as Spider-Man, you have the option to do so on PlayStation.”

Marvel’s Avengers patch 1.5.0 launched on Thursday, introducing new hero Clint Barton and fresh story content in the form of Operation Hawkeye: Future Imperfect.

March 18 also marked the delayed release of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Marvel’s Avengers.