{"id":48109,"date":"2026-08-16T05:50:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T00:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=48109"},"modified":"2026-08-16T05:50:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T00:50:25","slug":"marvel-tokon-fighting-souls-is-further-proof-of-the-marvel-video-game-curse-readers-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=48109","title":{"rendered":"Marvel T\u014dkon: Fighting Souls is further proof of the Marvel video game curse &#8211; Reader\u2019s Feature"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"646\" height=\"339\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305879142-5bde.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29182525\" alt=\"Storm, Ghost Rider and Iron Man in Marvel T\u014dkon: Fighting Souls\" decoding=\"sync\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Marvel T\u014dkon: Fighting Souls \u2013 not a guaranteed hit (Sony Interactive Entertainment)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/sony\/\">Sony<\/a>\u2019s <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/marvel\/\">Marvel<\/a> T\u014dkon: Fighting Souls off to a shaky start, a reader looks back at the surprisingly long list of Marvel video game flops and asks why even good games don\u2019t sell.<\/p>\n<p>Sony has fumbled the launch of <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/08\/12\/marvel-tokon-fighting-souls-review-avengers-assemble-2026s-best-fighter-29355315\/\">Marvel T\u014dkon: Fighting Souls<\/a> and I don\u2019t really know why. I\u2019m sure they had deadlines to make but if the PC version was so buggy why not just delay it for a few weeks? It\u2019s not like they\u2019re going to miss the <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/christmas\/\">Christmas<\/a> season or something, we\u2019re in the middle of August. But, as usual, when faced with the question of whether to delay a broken game or not the publisher just went ahead anyway and figured, \u2018Who cares if it works or not?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Well, also as usual, their stupidity immediately backfired, the game was a total flop on PC and the negative word of month seemed to affect the <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/playstation-5\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">PlayStation 5<\/a> version as well, which doesn\u2019t seem to have done well at all. Which is a shame as I quite liked the beta, even if I\u2019d never want to buy it for full price.<\/p>\n<p>But I don\u2019t think it would\u2019ve been a hit whatever happened because, weirdly, Marvel <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/games-news\/\">video games<\/a> don\u2019t sell. That doesn\u2019t sound like it should be true, but apart from <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/spider-man\/\">Spider-Man<\/a> games and <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/lego\/\">Lego<\/a> tie-ins, it\u2019s true and Marvel T\u014dkon is just the latest proof of that.<\/p>\n<p>There have been Marvel video games almost since video games were invented but in the MCU era there hasn\u2019t really been that many console and PC titles. I think the first ones were a bunch of mid-budget trash games from <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/sega\/\">Sega<\/a>, from before they knew the MCU was going to blow up the way it did.<\/p>\n<p>Looking through a list of games the first one from after it was obvious was <strong>Guardians Of The Galaxy: The Telltale Series<\/strong>, which I\u2019ve never heard of till now but was apparently a flop. Then there was <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2017\/09\/18\/marvel-vs-capcom-infinite-review-i-wanna-take-you-for-a-ride-6937307\/\"><strong>Marvel Vs.<\/strong> Capcom: Infinite<\/a>, a series a lot of people would\u2019ve rather seen continue over Marvel T\u014dkon, but that didn\u2019t do well either.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\" data-ico=\"factbox_article\" data-track-module=\"factbox_article\">\n<h2 class=\"factbox-title\">\n\t\t\t\tExpert, exclusive gaming analysis\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<p>Sign up to the <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/newsletters\/game-central\/\"><strong>GameCentral newsletter<\/strong><\/a> for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Then we got <strong><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2019\/07\/19\/marvel-ultimate-alliance-3-black-order-review-avengers-assembled-10423906\/\">Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3<\/a><\/strong>, which had Spider-Man very prominent in the marketing but was a group game, and that didn\u2019t do well. After that was Square Enix\u2019s super expensive live service game <strong><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2020\/09\/08\/marvel-avengers-review-final-verdict-earths-mightiest-loot-quest-13237109\/\">Marvel\u2019s Avengers<\/a><\/strong>, which\u2026 flopped.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m sure you must be picking up on a pattern here but it\u2019s not that the games were bad. <strong><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2021\/10\/25\/guardians-of-the-galaxy-game-review-avenging-the-avengers-game-15482627\/\">Marvel\u2019s Guardians Of The Galax<\/a>y<\/strong> and <strong><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2022\/11\/30\/marvels-midnight-suns-review-avengers-age-of-xcom-17852204\/\">Marvel\u2019s Midnight Suns<\/a><\/strong> were both amazing, but they didn\u2019t sell well at all. Even the scrolling beat \u2018em-up <strong><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/12\/01\/marvel-cosmic-invasion-review-four-player-beat-em-up-stars-25037790\/\">Marvel Cosmic Invasion<\/a><\/strong>, which came out recently, just seemed to get completely ignored.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Marvel&amp;apos;s Avengers | Launch Trailer | PS4\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DqTOE6tqyLs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>But why? I\u2019ve been wracking my brain for a good reason, and I just can\u2019t come up with one. Unless it\u2019s just that people assume the games will be bad because they\u2019re tie-ins. It could be that the appeal of the films is a lot more the characters and quips but Guardians Of The Galaxy and Midnight Suns were really good at that. Even the Avengers game was pretty good in its story mode.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe people want something that\u2019s part of the canon of the MCU, something with actors and voiceovers that are the same as the films, but that hasn\u2019t stopped people liking the Spider-Man games, which are nothing like the movies.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a real puzzle but the evidence is very clear: if it\u2019s not a Spidey game or aimed at kids then your game is going down. Which begs the obvious question: does that include Wolverine? He is a very popular character but still nowhere close to Spider-Man and his game doesn\u2019t sound like it\u2019s as interesting to a non-fan, since Wolverine\u2019s powers are basically just fighting.<\/p>\n<p>And what other games are coming up? Blade, EA\u2019s Iron Man game, and Marvel 1943: Rise Of Hydra. I\u2019d put good money on all of them being flops. Whether they\u2019re good games or not \u2013 and they\u2019re good developers behind them so they probably are all good \u2013 it just doesn\u2019t seem to matter. The public has spoken and they are not interested in Marvel games\u2026 I just wish I understood why.<\/p>\n<p><strong>By reader Trepsils<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"339\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_307544359-6f63.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29316360\" alt=\"EA's Iron Man image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>EA\u2019s Iron Man game is apparently still on the way (Electronic Arts)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>The reader\u2019s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><em>You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><em>Just contact us at <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/08\/16\/marvel-tokon-fighting-souls-proof-marvel-video-game-curse-readers-feature-29381430\/mailto:gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk\">gamecentral@metro.co.uk<\/a> or use our <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/submit-stuff\/\">Submit Stuff page<\/a> and you won\u2019t need to send an email.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/08\/15\/im-dealing-video-game-backlog-48-titles-readers-feature-29381244\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">How I\u2019m dealing with my video game backlog of 48 titles &#8211; Reader&#8217;s Feature<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/08\/15\/elder-scrolls-6-sentinel-revealed-im-already-disappointed-readers-feature-29380966\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel has been revealed and I\u2019m already disappointed \u2013 Reader\u2019s Feature<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/08\/09\/ea-selling-bioware-mass-effect-best-news-ever-readers-feature-29329992\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">EA selling BioWare and Mass Effect would be the best news ever \u2013 Reader\u2019s Feature<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\"><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Comment now<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-comment\" href=\"#social-comment\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" class=\"metro-button share-bar-preferred-source\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-preferred-source\" href=\"#social-preferred-source\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/section>\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card accent--gaming\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card__inner\">\n<h4>GameCentral<\/h4>\n<p>Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marvel T\u014dkon: Fighting Souls \u2013 not a guaranteed hit (Sony Interactive Entertainment) With Sony\u2019s Marvel T\u014dkon: Fighting Souls off to a shaky start, a reader looks back at the surprisingly long list of Marvel video game flops and asks why even good games don\u2019t sell. Sony has fumbled the launch of Marvel T\u014dkon: Fighting Souls&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_305879142-5bde_1786750056.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200&h=630&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}