Marvel’s Avengers’ upcoming Spider-Man DLC will not feature story missions like those seen in the Kate Bishop, Hawkeye, and Black Panther updates.
Rather than a short campaign with bespoke missions, Avengers’ Spider-Man: With Great Power story is told through audio logs and illustrated cutscenes that are unlocked by completing challenges that have been added to the regular Avengers Initiative multiplayer missions. Working through these challenges gradually unfolds a storyline in which Spider-Man uncovers AIM’s new plan to upgrade their Synthoid army.
Talking to IGN, Avengers’ Gameplay Director, Philippe Therien, explained why Crystal Dynamics chose this direction. “We want to spend our efforts on content that everyone can enjoy, so we chose to spend a lot of our energy on the Klaw raid that's coming up at the same time,” he said.
“Really that's a simple decision for us. Spider-Man can play all the content, but then we release a piece of content that's good on all platforms. Really that was a decision that's been that way since the beginning,” he concluded.
Since the Spider-Man DLC doesn’t come with its own story missions, it is not being branded in the same way as previous character DLC; Crystal Dynamics call it a Hero Event. Kate Bishop and Hawkeye’s DLC, which came with in-engine animated cutscenes and story missions, were known as Operations. Black Panther’s more substantial additions in War for Wakanda came branded as an expansion.
A Hero Event, then, feels more akin to how games like Rainbow Six Siege or League of Legends will add a new character. There’s a certain amount of lore and cosmetics content around them, but the new playable content is essentially just the character themself. For more on that, take a look at our Avengers Spider-Man DLC preview, which goes into detail on how Peter Parker feels to play.
For other Avengers news, check out the cool suits Spider-Man has access to in the DLC, our story on Square Enix’s president’s feelings on Avengers, and our report on the removal of paid XP boosters from the game.
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.