Superhero games should be an easy win. You take a character people already love, give them great powers, and let players loose.
But for some reason, they keep hitting walls.
Right now, three big superhero titles Blade, Wonder Woman, and Black Panther are stuck in weird limbo. Fans are either waiting for updates or wondering if these games are even real anymore.
What’s going on?
Let’s break it down.
Marvel’s Blade Announced, Then Silence
Arkane Lyon, the studio behind Deathloop and Dishonored, announced Blade during The Game Awards 2023.
The teaser looked sharp. Blade stood in a blood-red-lit alley, katana in hand, with vampires clearly nearby. It had that Arkane style. Dark setting, slick camera work, cinematic tension.
But there was no gameplay. No release date.
And since then? Nothing.
No dev blogs. No follow-ups at summer events. No word on whether it’s first-person or third-person.
That’s unusual for Arkane. With Deathloop, they had early previews and regular updates. With Blade, it’s been radio silence.
Some think it’s because of the ongoing shakeups at Microsoft, which owns Arkane through Bethesda. Others suspect the studio is stretched thin after Redfall underperformed and Arkane Austin shut down.
Either way, fans are left guessing.
Wonder Woman Still in the Shadows
Warner Bros. and Monolith Productions announced a Wonder Woman game back in 2021.
They confirmed it would be single-player, open-world, and use the Nemesis system the same tech behind Shadow of Mordor.
That’s where the excitement ended.
Since the reveal, the project has gone dark. We haven’t seen gameplay, concept art, or even a dev update.
Some leaks suggested Monolith was struggling with scope. Others said WB wanted it to fit into their larger “connected DC Universe” strategy, which might be slowing things down.
With Suicide Squad flopping and Rocksteady’s future unclear, Warner Bros. is probably being careful. But too much caution is starting to look like hesitation.
People want to believe this is still happening. But no one can say for sure.
Marvel’s Black Panther Big Pitch, No Product
EA and Cliffhanger Games announced a new Black Panther title in 2023.
It’s meant to be a third-person, single-player game set in Wakanda. The pitch was bold: you play as the new Black Panther after the death of a previous one.
The studio is new, made up of veterans from God of War, Shadow of Mordor, and Halo Infinite.
That sounds good on paper.
But we’ve seen nothing since the reveal. No trailer. No screenshots.
And EA has been quiet about it. The company said it’s a “multi-year development” project, which sounds like it’s still early.
So for now, it’s another superhero title sitting on the shelf.
It’s Not Just These Three
Other superhero games have stumbled or vanished too.
- Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League launched in early 2024 and crashed hard. Players didn’t like the live service structure. Rocksteady went silent for months before announcing changes, but the player base never bounced back.
- Marvel’s Midnight Suns released in 2022 to good reviews but sold poorly. Firaxis cut support early, and the studio’s leadership changed.
- Gotham Knights looked solid pre-launch but landed flat. Co-op wasn’t enough to carry the game.
- Marvel’s Avengers is gone. Support ended. Servers are winding down. Square Enix shut the door on that project for good.
All of this creates a pattern.
Studios announce big superhero games. They either get delayed, lose momentum, or disappear entirely.
Why Are Superhero Games Struggling?
There’s no single answer. But a few things stand out.
1. Pressure from the IP.
When you use a major character like Blade or Wonder Woman, fans expect it to be perfect. The pressure is high. Studios have less freedom. One mistake and the internet turns on them.
2. Live service confusion.
Publishers keep trying to turn superhero games into live services. Avengers and Suicide Squad are prime examples. Players don’t want that. They want story-driven, polished single-player games.
3. Licensing slows things down.
Working with Marvel or DC means extra layers of approval. Want to tweak a costume? Add a new villain? You need sign-off. That adds delays.
4. Studio problems.
Some of these developers are dealing with internal issues. Layoffs, reboots, studio closures. If the team behind the game isn’t stable, the game won’t be either.
What Fans Want
It’s simple.
They want a game like Spider-Man 2 from Insomniac.
Polished. Focused. No nonsense.
You play as a superhero. You live in that world. You get a story worth finishing.
That’s it.
Right now, fans are watching Wolverine, also from Insomniac. If that one lands, it could reset expectations for what a superhero game should be.
Until then, we’re stuck watching titles like Blade, Wonder Woman, and Black Panther sit on the sidelines.
No trailers. No gameplay. No answers.
Is the Curse Real?
Maybe not.
But it’s clear superhero games aren’t automatic wins anymore. They take time. They demand tight direction. And fans are getting tired of waiting for games that never show up.
If these projects are still alive, the studios need to speak up.
Show a screenshot. Drop a dev update. Give people something real.
Because right now, the silence is louder than the hype.
