Marvel Heroes is closing. The action MMO for PC, PS4, and Xbox One no longer has a license from Marvel and must shut down. The game is dead.
In recent weeks, fans of Marvel Heroes have noticed: Something is up. The game has missed four weekly updates, which was otherwise known for its regular patches and events. Nothing came even for Halloween.
Overall, the action brawler has fallen into a crisis. PC players have dropped off since the focus shifted to PS4 and Xbox One. The free-to-play game was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One only in June this year.
Just now, the news from Marvel came via the US site Kotaku, that they are ending the collaboration with Gazillion Entertainment and that Marvel Heroes will be closed. Marvel does not provide reasons.
They thank the community for playing and announce that they will provide further information as soon as it becomes available. Marvel is a subsidiary of Disney.
Problems with the CEO of the company? Fans called for a boycott
We reported two weeks ago on the critical situation at Marvel Heroes. At that time, it was already noticeable that updates were missing, and problems were emerging.
Interestingly, the CEO of the company came under public scrutiny. He had a bad reputation for allegedly behaving inappropriately towards others, particularly women. It was heading towards “sexual harassment.”
These allegations were brought to light by a former high-ranking employee of the game. He stated that many in higher levels of the studio were aware of this but kept it quiet for fear of issues with Marvel. They were afraid they could lose their license.
Some fans had therefore called for Marvel to be informed about the problems. However, it is unclear whether this was truly the trigger for this drastic step. It may also be that strategic considerations are at play or some corporate decision. Perhaps the numbers had simply become too weak.
In any case, the problems seem to have become apparent in recent weeks. Now it is official: The action MMO is no more, yet everything seemed so good just a year ago. Marvel Heroes was considered a success story for a long time under the Diablo father David Brevik.
For fans, there is still a glimmer of hope: The US site Kotaku reportedly received the statement exclusively via email from a Disney official. So far, other sites have not been able to verify the accuracy of the information.
Other sites have since been able to verify the closure.
Update: On December 31, the servers of Marvel Heroes will be closed
Update 16.11.: It is now known when the servers of Marvel Heroes will close: On December 31, 2017, it will happen. Then the servers of Marvel Heroes on PS4, Xbox One, and PC will be closed forever. The possibility to spend money in the game will soon be removed.
Marvel Heroes will be completely free to play during the remaining time. Gazillion will announce when they switch to this “twilight period.”
We will report on the background at MeinMMO as soon as we have more information:
