Summary
Marvelis one of the biggest comic book companies in the world. Among its many multimedia projects,it has released several video games that have allowed players to control some of its most iconic superheroes and super villains. Gamers have gotten to play as their favorite characters inMarvel’s Spider-Man,Guardians of the Galaxy,Marvel: Ultimate Alliance,Marvel Rivals,and many more.
However, not every Marvel gaming project has seen the light of the day. Over the years, multiple developers have revealed fascinating information about video games based off of Marvel superheroes that were sadly canceled before they were completed. This has happened many times, and across multiple console generations, but these canceled Marvel video games are the most interesting ones so far.
8Black Panther
By Cliffhanger Games
WhileBlack Pantherhas always been a beloved superhero with a lot of cultural significance, his mainstream popularity skyrocketed after his first live-action movie in 2018. Marvel fans were craving game in which they could play as T’Challa and explore the advanced land of Wakanda. Fortunately, Electronic Arts announced exactly that in 2023.
This newBlack Panthervideo game was being developed by a brand-new studio called Cliffhanger Games. For almost two years, not much information was disclosed about this project, and fans were wondering when Marvel and EA were going to reveal more. Unfortunately, in May 2025,Electronic Arts finally confirmed that the game was canceledand that Cliffhanger Games was being shut down, resulting in a slew of layoffs at the company. This was an unfortunate turn of events, especially because Black Panther has so much potential for a fun and unique video game.
7Spider-Man: The Great Web
By Insomniac Games
In December 2023, Insomniac Games was hacked. This resulted in the leaking of private information about the company, including personal information of its employees and some content from unreleased video games. This unfortunate situation heavily affected Insomniac Games, but it also allowed fans to learn abouta canceledSpider-Manmultiplayer experience calledSpider-Man: The Great Web.
This was going to bea live service video game taking place in Insomniac’sMarvel’s Spider-Manuniverseand inspired by the Spider-Verse event. Players would have been able to control different multiversal Spider-People (like Peter, Miles and Gwen), who would join forces to fight a version of the Sinister Six. While this was an interesting concept for a multiplayer game, some fans believe that it was for the best it was scrapped, since recent live service superhero games (likeMarvel’s AvengersorSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League) have been huge commercial failures.
6Marvel: World of Heroes
By Niantic Labs
Pokemon GOtook the world by storm back in 2016,inspiring other big companies to release augmented reality games based off of their own intellectual properties.Monster Hunter Now,Harry Potter: Wizards Unite,Pikmin Bloom,and came out as a result. All of these projects were also made byPokemon GO’s developer, Niantic Labs. It should be no surprise that, at one point, Marvel hired the studio to make an AR mobile game with Marvel superheroes, titledMarvel: World of Heroes.
This was going to be a mobile video game with geolocation-based AR gameplay and many playable Marvel characters, like Doctor Strange, Cyclops, Spider-Man and Thor. However, in June 2023 (a few months after its original announcement), Niantic announced that, due to a major organizational shift within the company, it had closed down its Los Angeles studioand stopped production onMarvel: World of Heroes.
5The Avengers
By THQ Studio Australia
2012’sThe Avengerswas a worldwide cinematic phenomenon. It not only turned the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cultural juggernaut it is today, but it also cemented its titular characters as the biggest superhero team on the planet. Fans began asking Marvel to make a video game in which they could play as these heroes at the same time. Curiously enough, one tied to the aforementioned movie was actually being developed at one point.
Before the movie even came out,THQ Studio Australia was working onThe Avengers, a tie-in action game that would have allowed players to take control of the titular team’s heroes, each with their own distinct gameplay style. Iron Man could fly around and shoot projectiles, Hulk could smash enemies with his fists, etc. This promising Avengers game was canceled because THQ was going through a major financial crisis. It had to shut down its Australian studio and scrap most of its projects, before going bankrupt in 2012.
4Marvel: Chaos
By Electronic Arts Chicago
Marvel has had an interesting history with the fighting game genre, with both great successes (like the iconicMarvel vs. Capcomseries) and colossal failures (likeMarvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects). However, and unbeknownst to most comic book fans, there was almost a hyperrealistic fighting game starring Marvel characters. It was made by Electronic Art Chicago, the studio behind games likeDef Jam: IconandFight Night Round 2.
TitledMarvel: Chaos,this fighter was revealed during San Diego Comic-Con 2007and canceled a few months later, because EA decided to shut down its Chicago studio (among many others). An Xbox 360 prototype ofMarvel: Chaosleaked on the internet a few years later. It looked fun, showing a 3D arena fighter with a cast of beloved comic book characters and destructible environments. It would have been great to experienceMarvel: Chaosbut, withMarvel Tokon: Fighting Soulscoming out in the near future, fighting game aficionados will get their Marvel fix soon.
3The Invincible Iron Man
By Genepool Software
Despite being such an iconic superhero nowadays,Iron Man hasn’t had the best record when it comes to video game representation. While fans are hoping that EA and Motive Studio’s upcomingIron Mangame will finally give Tony Stark the time to shine, it was also recently discovered that another fascinating video game starring Iron Man was being developed during the mid-2000s.
This canceled project, titledThe Invincible Iron Man,was revealed by Kevin Edwards, a former Genepool Software developer, back in 2023. The studio began working on a stylish Iron Man third-person adventure for PS2, Xbox, and PC shortly after the release of its previous Marvel game,X2: Wolverine’s Revenge. Based on the pictures that Edwards revealed, this game looked quite good. But according to him, Activision canceled the game when theIron Manfilm was delayed and the studio was closed down. This is a real shame, becauseThe Invincible Iron Mancould have been the glorious video game debut that Iron Man deserves.
2Daredevil: The Man Without Fear
By 5000ft Inc.
Daredevil is another iconic Marvel superhero that still hasn’t received a proper single-player video game of his own. It’s disappointing, because the idea of playing as a crime-fighting blind vigilante with advanced hearing and acrobatic expertise sounds promising. In the early 2000s, 5000ft Inc. (developers ofArmy Men: Green Rogue)worked on a Daredevil video game for PS2, Xbox and PC.
InDaredevil: The Man Without Fear,players would have taken control of Matt Murdock as he patrolled the streets of Hell’s Kitchen, beating up gangs and trying to find Elektra. The gameplay was reminiscent of theSpider-Manconsole games released around that time, but with Daredevil’s grappling hook instead of spiderwebs and his augmented hearing instead of spider-sense.Daredevil: The Man Without Fearlooked like an interesting and faithful adaptation of the iconic hero, but it went through a tumultuous development process with many setbacks until Marvel canceled it in 2004. This game was so far in development that an early playable build was uploaded onto the internet in 2023.
1Ghost Rider
By Neversoft Entertainment
Weirdly enough, Ghost Rider has had better representation in video games than other, more well-known, Marvel characters. The 2007 video game adaptation of his first live-action filmis fondly remembered as a solid (albeit derivative) hack-and-slash experience.But most people don’t know that Neversoft Entertainment, developers of the originalTony Hawk’s Pro Skatertetralogy,was actually working on aGhost Ridervideo game back in the late 90s.
This was a 2D sidescroller with 3D environments and impressive real lighting effects that looked quite good for its time, not to mention that its dynamic whip-based combat made it look a lot like aCastlevaniagame. Unfortunately, the publisher, Crystal Dynamics, ended up cancelingGhost Rider.Executives believed that it had to be a fully 3D experience in order to succeed, which was a common sentiment during that transitional period of the video game industry.
