The Avengers is a cancelled
first-person brawler video game set to be released in 2012, to coincide with the release of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
film of the same name. The game was not tied or based around the film, but rather an original story, inspired by the "
Secret Invasion" storyline in the comics.
In 2010,
THQ acquired the rights from Marvel with development handled by
THQ Studio Australia with outsourced development handled by
Blue Tongue Entertainment to create a video game based on several characters from the
Avengers. The game chosen to be in first-person came from the developers wanting to try something different from
previous games based on Marvel's properties, wanting the player to see through the eyes of characters such as
Captain America,
Hulk,
Thor and
Iron Man. The story was to be an original one borrowing elements from the "
Secret Invasion" story in the comics with
Brian Michael Bendis, who wrote the arc, brought in to script the game's story.
PlayStation 3 and
Xbox 360 were the main consoles of development with Blue Tongue Entertainment handling the
PC port. Plans for a
Wii U was also considered around the system's launch and console features such as the
Kinect for a mode called "Avengers Training Academy" which would have the player take control of a rookie superhero to fight along
The Avengers using motion controls, but both were later cut during pre-production.
During mid 2011, the game was struggling to keep up with development with
THQ's
financial problems with
Homefront and the
uDraw peripheral costing the company $100 million and the value of the Australian dollar to rise, causing
THQ to pay their employees in Australia more than their domestic divisions which led to the decision to shut down both
THQ Studio Australia and Blue Tongue Entertainment. In the last few weeks of the developers being shut down, they reached out to
Marvel Entertainment in hopes to continue funding and developing the title, which Marvel refused to with the game officially being cancelled.
After the game's cancellation, THQ sold off their properties, with
Ubisoft acquiring the license to make their own tie-in game to the film, borrowing some of the game's concepts and story to create
Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth for
Xbox 360 and
Wii U, released on October 20, 2012.
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