It’s rumoured that Marvel’s Avengers from Square Enix has lost a whopping 96% of its players since it launched in September 2020.
An article from TweakTown claims that Marvel’s Avengers gamers playing on PC over the last weekend had peaked with just 1,190 players online.

The number of 1,190 players is 96% less than when Marvel’s Avengers made its debut on the Steam platform. The publication also discovered that during November so far, the average online player count is just around 752.
The online player numbers are likely to be higher on consoles, however the drop in player numbers seems to be a common trend for Marvel’s Avengers and I have no doubts that numbers will continue to fall across all platforms.

Prior to Marvel’s Avengers launching (and despite concerns of it being a “live-service” game) there was a lot of hype surrounding the title from Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics.
Granted, the developers made changes to the likeness of the characters as many fans referred to them as looking like “cosplayers”, but in fairness to the developers they seemed to have done all they could to give Marvel’s Avengers the best start possible.
The hype for Marvel’s Avengers was also reflected in the impressive launch sales that the game generated. Within its first month Marvel’s Avengers had sold 2.2 million in digital copies on console.

Marvel’s Avengers is also, at the time of writing, the second most successful digital launch for Square Enix behind Final Fantasy VII: Remake. So what has gone wrong?
The problem with Marvel’s Avengers could be any number of issues. For example, while not perfect, the Destiny series from Bungie got-off to a not-so-great start when it launched September of 2014.
At the time gamers had accused Destiny of lacking in story-telling, content and gameplay variety. Over the months that followed the launch of Destiny, the developers worked tirelessly to change the fortunes of the game.

So by the time Destiny 2 released in 2017, the original Destiny was a very different game and for the better. Granted Destiny 2’s launch also was not perfect, but it’s largely a game that has evolved for the better overtime.
Whatever you may or may not think of the Destiny series, it’s often the blueprint formula that companies such as Square Enix with Marvel’s Avengers and EA with Anthem are desperate to replicate. However, as both Square Enix and EA have discovered, replication is not a formula to success.
Whether Marvel’s Avengers has lost players due to its lack of immersive story, generic gameplay or endgame content, Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics really need to find a fix, not only for the short-term but also for the long-term success of Marvel’s Avengers.
In my opinion some quality story expansions that are primarily designed for single player but have the option of co-op could work in their favour.
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Featured Image Credit: Square Enix