Rumors of Marvel vs Capcom 4 have been heating up the fighting game community the last few days thanks to a series of leaked images. The newest edition in the crossover fighter appears to be all but confirmed with a new report out Monday evening. However, it looks like fan favorite X-Men characters will be dropped in favor of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and there’s still no clarity on whether this will be a PlayStation 4 exclusive or if Xbox One owners will be able to get in on the action too.
Polygon reports Marvel vs. Capcom 4 will indeed debut during the PlayStation Experience to be held on Saturday, December 3, and Sunday, December 4 in Anaheim, California. In a repeat of Sony’s 2014 event which saw Street Fighter 5 introduced on stage, the new fighting title will likely star during the keynote.
In a move that is sure to disappoint Marvel vs Capcom fans, Wolverine, Deadpool, and other X-Men characters will not be available. Instead, the game will focus solely on characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe such as Captain America, Iron Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
While likely not look favorably upon by the fighting game community, the move is expected from Marvel. It is actively pushing the characters it has the film rights to while downplaying the X-Men outside of the still popular comic book series. Fox owns the right to all the mutant heroes and villains along with the Fantastic Four and their villains.
Marvel vs Capcom 4 teaser images have surfaced. No word on if they are real, but we could find out at PlayStation Experience next Saturday. pic.twitter.com/AsoF724I9h
— VGF Gamers (@VGFGamers) November 26, 2016
As mentioned by Polygon , Capcom’s license with Marvel expired in 2013, which left the existing games in a lurch. All Marvel vs. Capcom titles and their DLC was pulled from both the Xbox Store and PlayStation leaving no updates of fans for the last three years.
However, will only fans who own a PS4 console or gaming PC have an opportunity to play Marvel vs. Capcom 4 ? The publisher and Sony signed off on a contract for Street Fighter 5 where the console maker paid part of the development costs in exchange for it remaining a PlayStation console exclusive.
It is entirely possible a repeat could happen with the new fighting title as Sony not only already has an exclusivity relationship with Capcom, but also with Disney and Marvel. PlayStation 4 owners enjoyed timed exclusives for Disney Infinity , which included Marvel characters, plus a custom Darth Vader-themed console for Star Wars: Battlefront .
The leaked images for Marvel vs. Capcom 4 also point towards the possibility of the game being a PS4 console exclusive. The console’s logo is prominently displayed alongside Marvel and Capcom.
The best-case scenario for Xbox One owners is the leaked images are only from the PlayStation Experience presentation, which naturally would not include the logo of its direct competitor. In fact, it may behoove Capcom to ensure Marvel vs. Capcom 4 gets as wide a release as possible and include not just the Xbox One, but the Nintendo Switch too.
Capcom sadly reported sales of Street Fighter 5 missed the 2 million copies sold goal for its 2015 fiscal year, which ended on March 31, 2016. The game came up short by 600,000 copies. The lackluster sales may have largely been due to the decision to focus on competitive multiplayer with the title and launch in February 2016 without a story mode more so than the console exclusivity decision.
Still, it will be interesting to see if the experience changes the course of Marvel vs. Capcom 4 to be a multi-console title or if the clarion call of Sony’s money will lead to a different fate.
What do you think of Marvel vs. Capcom 4 dropping the X-Men? Should it remain a PlayStation 4 exclusive? Sound off in the comments below.
[Featured Image by Capcom]
