While Disney backed out of directly developing and publishing video games in the 2010s, it is licensing out its famous franchises to game developers more than ever. Just within the last month, we saw the releases of Marvel’s Spider-Man for PC and Disney Dreamlight Valley. Now, Disney & Pixar Games, Lucasfilm Games, Marvel Games, and 20th Century Games have shown us what’s next at one of the first major presentations of this year’s D23: the Disney & Marvel Games Showcase.
Disney had earlier teased the presence of Amy Hennig’s ensemble Marvel game, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns’, but the show still contained some welcome surprises — namely, a platformer starring Mickey Mouse and his friends and a new Tron game. Other Disney-owned companies like Lucasfilm Games and 20th Century Games showed up with announcements too, so there were quite a few reveals to enjoy. Here’s everything that was announced at the Disney & Marvel Games Showcase.
Mike Bithell is working on a Tron game
Mike Bithell, the acclaimed indie developer behind games like Thomas Was Alone and John Wick Hex, announced that a Tron video game was in the works. It’s called Tron Identity and it will release for PC via Steam in 2023. While only a logo for the game was shown on stream, the game’s Steam page gives more details on what players can expect. It appears to be a narrative game in the mold of Bithell’s Subsurface Circular.
Disney Illusion Island announced by Battletoads devs
The second reveal of the show was Disney Illusion Island, a gorgeous-looking cooperative platformer starring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, and Donald. It is a Nintendo Switch exclusive created by Battletoads (2020) developer Dlala Studios, and it will be released in 2023.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns will now release on December 2
While Marvel’s Midnight Suns was supposed to release next month, it got delayed. The game fully reemerged with a new trailer at the Disney & Marvel Games showcase, with a new gameplay trailer and launch date of December 2, 2022. Animated prequel shorts were also teased during the broadcast.
Amy Hennig’s Marvel game stars Black Panther and Captain America
Amy Hennig, the writing mastermind behind franchises like Legacy of Kain and Uncharted, fully unveiled her new Marvel game with Skydance New Media. The game is about Captain America and Black Panther as they take on Hydra in Paris and Wakanda. Not much else is known about the game currently, although its tagline of “Four Heroes. Two Worlds. One War” suggests that up to four characters will be playable.
Pokémon Go studio’s next game is Marvel World of Heroes
The show closed with a quick tease of the latest game from Pokémon Go studio Niantic. The team’s next AR mobile game is called Marvel World of Heroes. While the trailer didn’t show much, a press release explains that players will create their own superhero and fight crimes as they interact with the world via AR. The project is set to launch sometime in 2023.
Everything else
- Marvel Strike Force gave a new look at a September 13 update featuring Red Hulk.
- Marvel Snap launches on October 18.
- Aliens: Dark Descent gameplay was shown.
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora was confirmed to still be in the works after a significant delay.
- Future Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga character packs and a Galactic Edition of the game were confirmed.
- Return to Monkey Island got an overview trailer ahead of its September 19 release.
- Gargoyles Remastered brings the classic platformer to modern consoles.
- Disney Mirrorverse got a cinematic trailer teasing an October update starring Hades.
- Disney Speedstorm got a new cinematic trailer that gave a first look at a Monsters Inc. track.
- Disney Dreamlight Valley is getting a Toy Story-themed update this fall.
- Mobile MMO RPG shooter Avatar Reckoning got an overview trailer narrated by a developer.
