Marvel was planning an 'MGU' after the release of Web of Shadows and Ultimate Alliance 2

In a recent episode of The Fourth Curtain podcast, author Alex Irvine and former Bungie president Alex Seropian sat down to discuss some 'storytelling secrets' from Marvel Rivals and beyond.

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Marvel Rivals (2024), Credit: NetEase Games

Throughout the discussion, Irvine touched on the challenges of establishing worldbuilding in a fast-paced multiplayer shooter like Marvel Rivals. However, he also revealed some interesting details about early plans for Marvel's gaming presence - specifically, the attempt to create a Marvel Gaming Universe (MGU).

"When I first started working on Marvel games, there was this idea that they were going to create like a Marvel gaming universe that was going to exist in the same way that the MCU," Irvine said on the podcast.

The idea never took off, however. Seropian, who worked at Disney between 2009 and 2012, explained that there was an early push to make the idea work, but ultimately, it never made it through.

"When I was at Disney, that was my initiative, 'Hey, let's tie these games together.' It was pre-MCU," Seropian explained. "But it didn't get funded."

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Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (2006), Credit: Activision

One of the biggest roadblocks was the sheer complexity of the idea. Game development cycles are already difficult to coordinate, both creatively and technically, and intertwining the timelines and releases of multiple titles would have been a monumental task. Seropian said they found solutions, but in the end, Disney decided against the plan.

"That was so frustrating because we came up with all these great ideas about how to do it," Irvine said.

It's worth noting that this was all happening before the MCU had cemented itself as the massive franchise it is today, at a time when the idea of a cinematic universe hadn't yet become mainstream. Insomniac Games team was still working on Ratchet and Clank 3, and the latest Marvel games at the time were a mix of Spider-Man titles like Web of Shadows and Shattered Dimensions, movie tie-ins such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Captain America, and Thor, along with broader Marvel projects like Ultimate Alliance 2 and Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

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Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (2008), Credit: Activision

While the landscape of Marvel games looked completely different back then, it was a far more active time in terms of the sheer volume of releases. Irvine mentioned that a lot of time was spent trying to figure out what the MGU would look like, how it would set itself apart, and how these games could be connected in a meaningful way.

"Even back then, we were trying to figure out, 'If there's going to be this MGU, how is it different from the comics? How is it different from the movies? How are we going to decide if it stays consistent?'," Irvine said.

The level of coordination required would have required enormous effort and, more importantly, a lot of money. Apparently, Disney wasn't willing to fund it at the time, and without that backing, the idea never moved forward.

"I think some of those questions got complex enough that there were people at Disney who didn't really want to deal with them"

Instead, Marvel chose to focus on standalone games, allowing developers more creative freedom without the restrictions of an interconnected timeline. That decision has led to some of the most critically acclaimed Marvel games in years, even if the idea of a shared gaming universe still lingers as an interesting what-if.

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