A Classic Marvel Fighting Game Is Making A Comeback
One of the best Marvel fighting games ever may be getting a remaster!
This article is more than 2 years old
The 2000 fighting game Marvel VS. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes was a significant release in the fighting game genre. It pitted the iconic heroes of both universes into an incredible gaming experience, with polished graphics, a beautiful soundtrack, and fantastic team-based battles. Unfortunately, however, what has been described as one of the best fighting game series of all time has spent a considerable amount of time suffering in legal limbo due to licensing issues. But all that might be over soon, as Disney and Capcom reportedly enter talks about the game’s revival.
According to Game Rant, Disney and Capcom are reportedly discussing the revival of Marvel VS. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, following the rise of the #FREEMVC2 campaign on social media. The ever-growing campaign was started by a YouTuber Maximilian Dood earlier this year under a #FREEMVC2 hashtag to gather online support of the gaming series’ massive fandom and hopefully nudge Disney and Capcom to reconcile and re-release the game. His campaign caught the attention of Digital Eclipse, a gaming studio that previously remastered some of Disney and Capcom’s older titles, with the studio’s higher-ups showing support for the game’s re-release onto modern systems.
Digital Eclipse’s head Mike Mika openly spoke about the purported re-release and ongoing licensing issues that could potentially prevent the game’s remaster or remake. After showing his support for the online campaign, Mika floated the idea to both Disney and Capcom, stating that the decision to re-release Marvel VS. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes mainly falls on the companies involved. He also discredited any rumors, suggestions, and allegations regarding less-than-friendly relationships between Disney and Capcom that might’ve stemmed from 2017’s Marvel VS. Capcom: Infinite’s troubled development.
However, those rumors are far from true. Instead, the series was discontinued as a direct consequence of Disney’s acquisition of Marvel in 2009. After releasing Ultimate Marvel VS. Capcom 3 in 2012, Disney chose not to renew Capcom’s license to Marvel’s characters, opting to use them in its own self-published Disney Infinity series. As a result, Capcom had to pull the Marvel Vs. Capcom gaming series off their online platforms. However, Disney later announced its decision to cancel the Disney Infinity series and discontinue self-publishing efforts, reverting to a license-only model, allowing Capcom to license Marvel’s characters once again.
With that said, the last Marvel Vs. Capcom game suffered through a troubled development caused by budget cuts, which resulted in mixed reviews from fans and critics, leading many to believe that Capcom and Disney had a falling out. However, Disney might actually take an interest in Capcom’s game, given the surge of high-quality, licensed Marvel games over the past few years, most notably Marvel’s Spider-Man, whose sequel was recently announced, and Marvel’s The Avengers, which is continuing forward with DLC releases, despite an abysmal launch. Given that the superhero trend isn’t slowing down, it’s entirely possible we might witness the re-release of Marvel VS. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes on modern systems, such as PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S.
