There's no new 'Disney Infinity' coming in 2016, but Disney has a plan
If you were hoping to see Disney Infinity 4.0 in September, brace yourself: It's not happening.
Disney has a plan, though. We might not see a totally new game in 2016, but we will see four significant "playset" packs, each of which will add the equivalent of a full game to the platform that is Disney Infinity.
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The order of things has yet to be determined, but expect one Marvel playset, one Star Wars playset, one Disney playset and one Pixar playset. We do know that Marvel is coming first, with the Marvel Battlegrounds playset arriving on Mar. 15.
Battlegrounds shows how developer Avalanche Softwar will use playset expansions to stand in for a proper sequel. The idea? Introduce new twists on Infinity gameplay, such as the four-player Smash Bros-style beat 'em up of Battlegrounds.
"We're really excited to be able to bring new genres and new gameplay types that fit that franchise best," Blackburn told Mashable.
"All the different playsets embrace different types of gameplay.
"Each of these will actually be focused on a different ... gameplay genre.""All the different playsets embrace different types of gameplay."
In addition to the playsets, fans can also expect new figures to surface over the course of the year. In addition to the Civil War version of Captain America packed into the Battlegrounds playsets, Ant-Man, Black Panther and Vision will also be sold separately.
Also coming are figurines -- Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde -- and a Power Disc pack for Zootopia, as well as a figurine for Baloo, the bear from The Jungle Book. While it'll be released in connection with the upcoming Jon Favreau-directed movie, the Infinity Baloo will be based off the animated version from 1967.
All of these details were revealed on the inaugural episode of Infinity Next, a new, semi-frequent video series that -- as Blackburn tells Mashable -- tells fans: "Here's what the next few months of Infinity releases looks like."
If you're familiar with Nintendo Direct livestreams, this is similar thinking. The difference with Infinity Next is that all videos will be pre-recorded, and they'll rope in some of the unique resources that Disney has access to.
"Producers and directors that worked on the films [will be] talking directly about how they collaborate with us," Blackburn said.
There will almost definitely be new "starter pack" releases -- meaning, Infinity 4.0 and beyond -- at some point, but the game in its current state really doesn't need that.
"I really don't want to talk about what the timetable is beyond 2016," Blackburn said. "The way that we look at this is, 'what would be the new features that would require us to put out a new starter pack?'
"While there'll be some new mechanics that do get added to Infinity 3.0 over the year, as far as a timeline for major releases, we're not really ready to talk about that yet."
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Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
