Marvel’s Avengers, the ambitious superhero action-adventure experience currently in development at Crystal Dynamics, is the latest video game confirmed to be a cross-gen title. Assuming the studio’s first major project since 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider arrives on its revised release date, those intending to make a day one purchase will only have the option of either PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, at least as far as consoles are concerned.
As has been the case in the past when one console generation passes the baton to its successor, however, many of the initial third-party games released for next-gen will have started life on inferior hardware, with subsequent rereleases usually promising improved visuals and/or performance to encourage a second purchase. This time around, however, publishers, perhaps aware of the mounting costs facing the consumer when buying into new tech, have seen fit to start cutting deals with Sony and Microsoft.
To ensure fans aren’t faced with the difficult choice between buying on release day or waiting a few months for what’ll inevitably be the definitive next-gen version, Sony has confirmed that every PS4 owner who owns Marvel’s Avengers will be able to freely download the game when it becomes available on PlayStation 5. Neat.
As for the sorts of improvements one can expect to see for PS5, Crystal’s Gary Snethen says that super-fast load times, higher, more consistent frame rates and dynamic 4K resolution will be par for the course, adding that “when optimization is complete, loading content will be nearly instant, allowing players to seamlessly jump into missions anywhere in the game world.” Bold claims, that’s for sure, and we can’t wait to see them realized when next-gen officially arrives later this year.
Marvel’s Avengers releases September 4th for consoles, PC and Stadia.