Marvel’s Avengers‘ next hero drop will be a markedly different affair to what’s come before. Unlike Kate Bishop and Clint Barton before him, Black Panther will be joining the existing cast of playable characters alongside his secretive home nation in fully-fledged expansion to the main game, War for Wakanda.
So ambitious is this content drop promised to be, that Crystal Dynamics’ Tore Blystad says they’re unable to cover all the big talking points in a single blog post, with this week’s first preview focusing squarely on the aforementioned fictional African sovereign state. While this development update doesn’t provide any in-engine gameplay or screenshots, readers are treated to several concept art images depicting Wakanda, which have been crafted with all-new assets inspired by the comics.
Blystad says the end result required the team to spend a lot of time gathering references from Marvel’s source material, with fans of the comics likely to spot the inspiration.
While overtly beautiful and welcoming, however, the dense jungle surrounding Wakanda is littered with traps and environmental hazards, an environment ripe for encouraging exploration and diversions from the beaten path. Collectibles and unspecific “treasure” found in strong boxes around the map will go to those who leave no stone or leaf unturned. Finding everything squirreled away in hard-to-reach places, however, will require mastery of Wakanda’s vertical level design.
As for when Marvel’s Avengers, players eager to embark on a new adventure can do so, War for Wakanda is currently scheduled to land sometime in August as a free title update for all players on Xbox One, Series X|S, PS4, PS5, PC and Stadia. Stay tuned for more details.