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Spider-Man will be a PlayStation exclusive in Marvel’s Avengers

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Spider-Man will swing onto Marvel’s Avengers, the upcoming live-service game from developer Crystal Dynamics and publisher Square Enix, exclusively on PlayStation.

The character will come to the platform in 2021, assuming the wall-crawler will be available on both PS4 and PS5, especially as the game supports cross-generational multiplayer. Exclusive characters are also probably the reason why the game won’t have cross-play between PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

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Marvel’s Avengers will introduce Peter Parker and his superhero alter ego via an in-game event that will include single-player hero missions before he becomes accessible in the wider multiplayer War Zones.

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Crystal Dynamics will take inspiration from numerous different artists’ interpretations of the character, but the original designs of Steve Ditko and John Romita Sr. will be at the core of the influence. While the developer was not explicit in denying it, this all but confirms that this will not be the same interpretation of the character seen in Insomniac’s Spider-Man game.

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man comes to Marvel's Avengers, exclusively on PlayStation. Crystal Dynamics offers early details on its own, unique take on the post-launch Hero: https://t.co/GA3t6Y40KI pic.twitter.com/TEho59XfIc

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) August 3, 2020

Spider-Man will follow the same format as the other characters in the game: Skill trees that offer him new abilities, gear to upgrade, and a variety of costumes to choose from. Crystal Dynamics is also working on making the character’s gameplay feel like a natural addition to the title.

Spider-Man is heavily tied to Sony as the company owns the film rights for the character, striking a deal with Marvel’s parent company Disney to have him included in their cinematic universe. While the friendly neighborhood superhero can be found on other gaming platforms like the Nintendo Switch’s Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, that hasn’t stopped Sony from obtaining exclusivity for Insomniac’s game, the developer recently being absorbed as a PlayStation studio.

Console-exclusive characters are nothing new, but they’re usually implemented in games that don’t have a narrative focus, such as the Soul Calibur series. With the game expanding the narrative as the years go on, it’ll be interesting to see how Crystal Dynamics weaves the web-slinging superhero into the story unless he does make his way to Xbox and PC, only as a non-playable option.

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Tom Caswell
Tom Caswell
Professional video producer and writer, gaming enthusiast, and streamer! twitch.tv/greatbritom
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