PlayStation recently announced two new Marvel titles being developed by its studio Insomniac Games. While Marvel video games made by third-party studios have been announced and released in recent years, the new titles seem to point towards a continued partnership between PlayStation and Marvel for developing AAA first-party titles. So far that partnership has found a lot of success for both companies, butXboxcould very well counter it with a partnership with DC Comics. Not only couldXboxdo such a move, but it should.
Of course, DC Comics and Marvel have competed with one another for nearly as long as the two companies have existed. A similar rivalry has existed between Xbox and PlayStation, with both companies releasing their opposing consoles at around the same time every generation. The companies also have taken different approaches to their first-party titles and studios, withPlayStation being more selective in its acquisitions, and Xbox aiming to get a wider variety of studios that cover diverse genres. Neither of the approaches is better than the other, but illustrates a very different focus for each company, and Xbox’s approach would pair very well with DC Comics.
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PlayStation’s Marvel Partnership
PlayStation’s partnership with Marvel started in earnest with the development of its exclusive gameMarvel’s Spider-Man. The open-world action game was very well received by critics and players alike, and eventually received a port to the PlayStation 5, as well as a standalone release withMarvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales.Miles Moraleswas also very well received, and therecent announcement ofMarvel’s Spider-Man 2indicates that PlayStation is planning on capitalizing on that success. However, PlayStation’s partnership with Marvel can be seen third-party titles likeMarvel’s Avengersas well, where Spider-Man is exclusive to PlayStation players only.
Of course, PlayStation’s use of the Spider-Man character is not too surprising as its parent company Sony also owns the film rights for the character. However, PlayStation also revealed that Insomniac is also developing a game based on Marvel’s popular mutant Wolverine.
While the announcement of the new title rose some concerns aboutInsomniac Games taking on too many projects, it also shows that the partnership between the two companies goes deeper than one character. With PlayStation expanding to a new Wolverine game, it would not be a surprise to see PlayStation studios other than Insomniac Games start working on their own Marvel projects that could cover a wide range of characters.
Why Xbox Should Counter With DC Comics
DC Comics has had a number of video games released over the years, including theBatman Arkhamseries and bothInjusticetitles. Its roster of heroes and villains is extremely versatile and can be used in a wide variety of genres and game types. This would work very well with Xbox’s recent dedication to offering a wide range of different games to cater to as many players as possible.
DC’s wide range of characters and superhero teams like the Suicide Squad, Hellboy, and the Teen Titans all offer their own unique possibilities and opportunities for a diverse array of games that Xbox could have its many first-party studios tackle. DC Comics also has many characters that fans would love to see have their own game but never have,including the likes of Harley Quinn.
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Xbox could also capitalize on the previous success that DC Comics has enjoyed in video games. It would be a massive win for Xbox if thehighly anticipatedInjustice 3ended up being a console exclusive on the platform, or if it could secure another title that was in the same style like theBatman Arkhamseries. Xbox’s dedication to Game Pass would also be very beneficial for the potential partnership. Smaller characters or teams could work on lower-budget titles for the service that wouldn’t have to appeal to a broader audience to recoup development costs. This could also lead to more experimental games that feature more than just players punching a lot of bad guys.
Possible Games that Could Come From a DC Comics and Xbox Partnership
There are several possibilities for titles that could emerge from an Xbox partnership with DC Comics. One game that would work very well on Xbox would be a game similar toBatman: The Telltale Series.Batman: The Telltale Serieswas one of the best made by the company, and its formula could be applied to any character that DC Comics has.
A narrative game with an episodic structure like that would work extremely well on Xbox Game Pass as players could check out the first episode and then just check back in whenever a new episode was released without having to individually buy them or purchase a season pass before knowing whether or not they like it. With the power of the new line of Xbox consoles, the games could also run extremely well and smoothly, which was a bit of a problem for some of Telltale’s titles in the past.
The partnership could also lead to some great multiplayer titles based on teams from DC Comics, like a four-player co-op game based on theTeen Titansthat could be free-to-play or included with Xbox Game Pass and generate revenue with seasonal battle passes that bring new characters and content with them. The partnership could also see the return of the cult classic multiplayer shooterGotham City Imposters. It could also lead to some other highly requested games that DC fans have been waiting for, such as a new Superman game or a survival horror title based on Constantine.
Or, Xbox could even have one of its studios such as Obsidian Entertainment develop a sprawling underwater RPG featuring Aquaman. The partnership could also lead to some titles being developed and released around upcoming DC movies, such as thecanceledBatman: The Dark Knightgame. Of course, only time will tell whether or not Xbox or DC would be interested in a partnership like this, but it definitely seems as though both companies have a lot they could gain from it.
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