Marvel's Avengers is giving its players a digital gift bundle for perseverance through "turbulence" during the game's launch. Developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix, Marvel's Avengers caught the world's attention but didn't quite meet player's expectations.
With the number of active players seemingly dropping day to day, Avengers needs a win. This isn't it. Square Enix's thank-you bundle isn't a gift of gratitude; it's an olive branch for appeasement.
What's In the Box?
Players who log in and play starting from Oct. 22 will be eligible to receive the Avengers digital thank-you bundle. The contents will include 1,500 Credits, 7,000 Units, 250 Upgrade Modules, 20 DNA Keys and a Sara Garza-Inspired Nameplate. The Credits are enough for a player to purchase a Legendary Skin and a Nameplate from one of the vendors.
7,000 Units can be nice in one big swing, but these are given to the player on a near-constant basis and shouldn't be too much of a currency concern. 250 Upgrade Modules is a respectable number for something players can usually only get a dozen or so a day -- the same can be said for DNA Keys, without investing tons of time into Villian Sectors.
It'll Take More to Turn the Tide for Marvel's Avengers
Critics and players held Avengers to the same high set of standards they've grown accustomed to with Marvel's other properties. Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man proved Marvel video games could deliver similar experiences to the films. Avengers rode the hype train and featured character designs to make them resemble their film counterparts, but launched with prevalent cosmetic and gameplay issues.
These included -- but were not limited to -- infinite loading screens, textures that don't load or load incorrectly, freezing and missions that couldn't be completed. There's also the matter that many players feel fatigued with yet another lackluster game-as-a-service. To top it all off, just after announcing the thank-you bundle, Square Enix revealed it is delaying the new Kate Bishop content.
Many players have already left Avengers. As soon as these issues and grievances began to pile up, the vast majority cut their losses. Most notable on PC, there have been reports of player counts dropping below 1 thousand some days, but numbers are going down across the board. It's a shame, because Avengers has the skeleton of a good game; it's just buried under lots of ugly bugs and issues. Once those are addressed, regular content additions and enhancements to gameplay will drive players back to the game, not free skins and crafting materials.
Marvel's Avengers players can claim their digital thank-you gift starting on Oct. 22.