Developer Firaxis Games revealed on Twitter the highly-anticipated strategy game Marvel's Midnight Suns was delayed indefinitely for some platforms. Initially planned for March 2022, the game had already been pushed to October 2022 before this second delay.
Inspired by The Rise of the Midnight Sons crossover storyline from Marvel Comics, Marvel's Midnight Suns will bring multiple heroes together as they join forces to defend Earth from Lilith, the mother of all demons. Set in the horror corner of the Marvel universe, the Midnight Sons comic books usually featured heroes related to the mystic arts or monsters, such as Doctor Strange and Blade. However, the roster of characters has been expanded for the game, as big stars such as Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, and Wolverine also join the fight.
In their official announcement, Firaxis said that they have “made the decision to move back the launching time of Marvel's Midnight Suns to ensure we are delivering the best possible experience for our fans.” In the announcement, Firaxis also confirmed that the game will still be released “this fiscal year” for Windows PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. Since the fiscal year extends until March 2023, we’ll probably be able to play the game at the beginning of next year. Unfortunately, owners of a PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch will have to wait a little longer since the version for these consoles is “following at a later date.”
Firaxis is famous for developing game franchises such as Civilization and XCOM, the latter of which seems to have been the inspiration for Marvel's Midnight Suns. In an interview for Polygon, Firaxis director Jake Solomon revealed that Marvel called the studio after the release of XCOM 2. As Solomon explains it:
“It was Marvel that reached out to us after we made XCOM 2. “When I had a call with the Marvel team, there was an executive vice president from Marvel on the call and they had very specific feedback about [that game’s notorious] finale mission, and a bunch of people started chiming in, and I was like, well, these guys are actually really are big fans. Right away, they understood the kind of games we make.”
From what we can see on the available footage for Marvel's Midnight Suns, the upcoming game will reuse the basic turn-based combat of XCOM 2, but with permanent units instead of disposable soldiers. Besides that, the game will allow players to strengthen their heroes as they complete missions and take down villains allied to Lilith.
Marvel's Midnight Suns comes to Windows PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 sometime in this fiscal year. The game will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch at an undisclosed future date. Check out the trailer below: