Marvel Future Revolution preview: The next generation of heroes

The Marvel franchise has covered a breadth of gaming genres, with several of the biggest comic properties getting the video game treatment. It’s set to extend to yet another with the release of Marvel Future Revolution, an MMORPG developed by Netmarble. Ahead of its launch this year, I got to take an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Marvel Future Revolution with the team behind the game.

Worlds collide

Marvel Future Revolution holds a special significance, as it is Marvel’s first open-world RPG. The story finds our heroes in an apocalypse-level crisis, as different versions are all colliding and collapsing into each other. Different dimensions converging means heroes from alternate universes banding together in order to stop total destruction.

With a plot that’s extremely grand in scope, Marvel Future Revolution feels like an all-star game of Marvel characters. At launch the game will feature 8 playable characters: Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Black Widow, Storm, and Star Lord. Each character has their own unique set of abilities, which players can unlock and upgrade as they make their way through the game.

There’s also a wide variety of locations that players will explore during their adventure in Marvel Future Champions. What’s really neat is that Netmarble has created some brand new locations for the open-world RPG. This includes Midgardia, a Nordic town on Earth where the citizens of Asgard have relocated. There’s also New Stark City, a bustling metropolis designed by Tony Stark himself. During the event, I saw flying vehicles and armor suits patrolling the streets. There’s also Xandearth, which now serves as the Nova Corps HQ on Earth following the destruction of their original home by Thanos himself.

Disassembled

Speaking of Thanos, this major crossover also means that some of the biggest villains in Marvel history will serve as adversaries in Marvel Future Revolution. Thanos, Kingpin, Ultron, and Loki are all boss characters that players may encounter during their journey. These bosses will be found in raids, which is a 4-player PvE mode, similar in design to raid features in other MMOs. After taking down bosses, players will score some valuable loot for their heroes.

Combat in Marvel Future Revolution is action-style, with battles playing out in real-time. Netmarble stresses that combat will feel “unique” to each hero. With characters having their own set of distinct powers, this will be reflected in their combat moves.

Marvel Future Revolution won’t just be restricted to PvE action. There are a couple of modes that will see players duking it out in hero vs hero battle. Omega War is a 10 vs 10 PvP mode where two teams will engage in an all-out battle. The Dark Zone is a dangerous area of the world in which PvP is always enabled. Here, combat is free-for-all and there can be up to 40 players engaged at once.

A one in a million hero

Cosmetics are a major component of Marvel Future Revolution. Each hero has a default costume, but players can outfit them in alternate suits. There’s costumes inspired by the looks of the MCU, as well as a brand new line of Hydra Empire costumes. One of the more interesting cosmetics I saw during the event was the New Stark City costumes, which gave every hero a dash of Iron Man flair.

What really gives the cosmetics a deep level of customization is the fact that players can mix and match individual pieces of gear. This includes hands, feet, body, hat, and hairstyle. With the amount of costumes in the base game, the developers stated that there are millions of possible costume combinations, ensuring every player’s hero is wholly unique.

Something to Marvel at

Though Netmarble already has a bunch planned for the launch of Marvel Future Revolution, they’re already working on new regions, story content, and characters for the post-launch window. Marvel Future Revolution is set to release on mobile devices this year. The game has an upcoming beta, which will open for pre-registers on June 29.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_