Why There Aren't More Truly Great Superhero Games

2. Outside The Mainstream (And Activision's End)

Focusing purely on live services, during these boom years for DC, Activision were more than happy to let their own superhero games flounder, releasing the occasional phoned-in Spider-Man alongside Sony's new movies for a quick buck. The company’s relationship with Marvel came to an end in 2014 with the turd in the wind that was The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Digital licenses for past games weren’t renewed either - meaning you can no longer officially buy any of their superhero titles outside of second-hand stores - proving once and for all how the publisher viewed these games as disposable products.

There were, of course, successful enterprises outside of Activision and WB, but they were mostly niche products. TellTale has released a bevy of great licensed, narrative-driven experiences, including ones based on superheroes like Guardians of the Galaxy and Batman. On the other hand, Lego has produced plenty of Marvel and DC projects aimed at a younger market. Fighting games have similarly always performed well, but superheroes usually only appeared in crossovers like Marvel vs. Capcom and the aforementioned Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.

While scratching an itch, none of these were quite the blockbuster experiences fans were looking for. For those, players had to look elsewhere, to original creations like Sony’s Infamous, to get their superhero fix.

Of course, no matter how good these games were, they came with the pervasive feeling that already-established heroes deserved to be treated with the same care.