Free-to-play 'Diablo'-style RPG 'Marvel Heroes' will be shut down, Disney confirms
Marvel Heroes is done.
Maybe it was inevitable when the 2017 launch of the console version, Marvel Heroes Omega, prompted cries of outrage from a PC community that had supported the game since 2013. But Disney confirmed in an email that the game is going away.
"We regret to inform our Marvel Heroes fans that we have ended our relationship with Gazillion Entertainment, and that the Marvel Heroes games will be shut down," the statement reads. "We would like to sincerely thank the players who joined the Marvel Heroes community, and will provide any further updates as they become available."
The free-to-play game was originally conceived as a spiritual successor to Marvel Ultimate Alliance, X-Men Legends, and others like them: Stat-heavy RPGs played from an isometric perspective, with a heavy emphasis on scoring sweet loot. Marvel super heroes by way of Diablo, essentially.
David Brevik, one of Diablo's original creators, was also a creative lead at Gazillion on the 1.0 version of Marvel Heroes. The game changed quite a bit over the years, but through all the changes it always hewed to that underlying vision.
Disney's statement comes after a full month of silence from Gazillion. The most recent updates to the game's website and social media channels were posted on Oct. 19. Developer updates and content release deadlines came and went during that time, leaving many on the game's subreddit to speculate that the end was nigh.
There's been no official word from Gazillion on the studio's status after the shutdown, but stay tuned.
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.
