Gazillion Confirms Marvel Universe MMO As Free To Play, Reveals Writer

Author: by Simon Carless, Mike Rose

At a Gamasutra attended event in San Francisco yesterday, Marvel revealed details of its upcoming Marvel Universe MMO, including the fact that it will be free-to-play. Although publisher Gazillion Entertainment did not go into detailed specifics regarding the game's content, it said that the title is coming to PC, with a console release to be confirmed. The game will not see a release for "at least a year", according to Gazillion staffers present, and the title is being developed by internal Gazillion studio Secret Identity. Players will not create their own superheroes, but rather be able to take control of a wide range of classic Marvel characters like Wolverine, Captain America and Spider-Man. The developer noted that the game is set to be aimed at both casual and hardcore fans of the Marvel series. Many different worlds from the Marvel comic universe will be featured in the game, spanning many different plotlines and story arcs, and the main villain in the game will be Dr. Doom, according to the presentation. It was also revealed that comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis is the lead writer on the project. Bendis is a huge name in mainstream comics, and is responsible for comic book series such as Ultimate Spider-Man, New Avengers, House of M and Secret War. Before working with Marvel Comics, Bendis also wrote for Caliber Comics, Image Comics and Oni Press. He wrote the script for the Ultimate Spider-Man video game, published by Activision. Gazillion, which recently raised $60 million in a new round of funding led by Singaporean private equity firm Temasek Holdings, has another kid-focused Marvel MMO, Super Hero Squad Online from Amazing Society, whose development was just completed.