Will We Ever See Another Marvel vs. Capcom Game?
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is coming out in just a couple of weeks and is already looking to be a new favorite among fighting fans with its fun style, inclusion of newer and deeper-cut characters, and wild 4-on-4 team battles.
But there is another beloved long-running fighting franchise featuring Marvel characters that has lain largely dormant for nearly a decade despite its developer being on an insanely hot streak for years now and seemingly able to do little wrong.
I am referring to the mostly beloved Marvel vs. Capcom series that began life as X-Men: Children of the Atom and evolved to be a massive crossover fighting game series between Marvel and Capcom characters, both notable and obscure.
Unfortunately, the “mostly beloved” is of note due to the last entry in the series, Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, making some major missteps and not being what a lot of fans wanted (I personally found it enjoyable, but I only play the occasional fighting game here and there and never get too deep into it, so I’m not the primary audience).
But the Capcom of 2017 is hardly the Capcom of today. The Capcom of today is easily the most successful it’s been in years, possibly ever. Resident Evil has had a bunch of successful new entries and remakes. Monster Hunter continues to be a massive success. Street Fighter is a major force in the fighting game space again after having quite the stumble years ago. They were even able to launch a brand new IP in Pragmata to fairly wide acclaim. Capcom is on a roll like few others game companies these days. Every release is exciting.
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That includes the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, which released just two years ago. It proved there’s an audience for the series with both reviews and sales numbers. I think if Capcom were to release another entry in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, it would likely be a huge success.
Granted, there are some factors working against this, and not just the fact that Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is also a highly exaggerated team-based fighter featuring many characters that would likely appear in a new Marvel vs. Capcom game. Marvel “fatigue” is certainly a thing as aside from something featuring Spider-Man games, shows, and movies don’t seem to be doing particularly well as a whole. This could affect Marvel Tokon as well, but the excitement level certainly seems to be there for that title.
Is there even space for two team-based fighting games featuring Marvel characters? I actually think there is as long as it is spaced out properly. Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is out in a couple of weeks; it would theoretically be several years before a sequel hit. If we got a new Marvel vs. Capcom in, say, 2028 or 2029, I think that would be perfect timing. Even late 2027 would probably work.
I’m excited for Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, even as someone who isn’t a super-competitive fighting game player. But I think there’s certainly room for another Marvel-based team fighting game and Capcom being on the roll it’s been on it seems like there’d be no better time to release another Marvel vs. Capcom game in the near future.
That’s it for today, I should have another post this weekend, possibly something related to San Diego Comic Con if any related news comes out of there, so see ya real soon!
