Marvel’s Avengers Beta to First Hit PS4, Gameplay Video Out in August — San Diego Comic-Con 2019

At San Diego Comic-Con 2019, we got another look at Marvel's Avengers, which is being described as “a story-driven, third-person action-adventure game”. Players will be able to build an Avengers roster and take part in a “cinematic” single-player campaign, and then use that for solo or co-op online battles in global missions. New pre-alpha gameplay footage was shown to Comic-Con attendees as well, which detailed the “Heroic” abilities of the core superheroes: Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk, and Black Widow. And lastly, Square Enix is partnering with Sony, which means PS4 owners will get priority access to the beta.

As the first Marvel's Avengers trailer showed, the game will begin on A-Day, a celebration that turns into a tragedy. Captain America is presumed dead and the Avengers disband, only to reassemble five years later with the world in peril and where superheroes have been outlawed. Players will use a Helicarrier as their base of operations, from which they can launch both single-player and co-op missions. Since it's a story-driven game, certain missions are designed for specific heroes, but others can be played using any available character.

Marvel's Avengers creative director Shaun Escayg said they'll have more details about the campaign and co-op play in the near future. The pre-alpha gameplay footage, meanwhile, will be released online for everyone the week after Gamescom in August, as the demo is still being worked on by the developers.

Moving onto the Heroic abilities, all heroes will have multiple ones. They include Unibeam Blast for Iron Man, shield bounce and ricochet for Cap, radial wind blast for Thor, and invisibility cloak for Black Widow. Hulk's Heroic abilites wern't explicitly mentioned, though a fan-favourite move was shown: using an enemy as a melee weapon.

The Marvel's Avengers Comic-Con panel also confirmed the game's voice cast: Nolan North as Iron Man, Jeff Schine as Cap, Travis Willingham as Thor, Laura Bailey as Black Widow, and Troy Baker as the Hulk. They all spoke a little about their characters as well. Tony Stark is struggling and has lost his tech and toys, Thor is trying to find his place as a God among humans, Black Widow becomes a lone wolf spy after A-Day, and there's a bigger focus on Bruce Banner as opposed to the green avatar.

Towards the end, Escayg revealed that publisher Square Enix has a deal with PlayStation that includes “awesome surprises and unique benefits” for PS4 owners, who will also be the first to enjoy the Marvel's Avengers beta. More details on the beta will be revealed over the next few months.

Marvel's Avengers is out May 15, 2020 on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.