And, like that, it's time to start speculating about the Marvel World of Superheroes release date. Announced at D24 on Saturday, September 9, Niantic was confirmed to be working on Marvel World of Heroes, another AR game from the folks behind Pokemon GO that should, in theory, let players live out their superhero fantasies in the real world via their smartphones. Here's what we know.
Before we get too deep into things, it's worth pointing out early that Marvel World of Heroes details are scarce at best. As is usually the case with Niantic titles, they're announced far in advance of their worldwide release with simple teaser trailers debuted before the game goes into soft launch in areas like Australia, Canada, or Malaysia depending on the genre.
For more Niantic coverage, you can't go wrong with our Pokemon GO codes page or our Pokemon GO legendary Pokemon list. For another upcoming Niantic game, the Peridot release date is getting closer by the day, and we've already covered how to walk in Peridot as well.
Marvel World of Superheroes release date speculation
Right now, we only know that the Marvel World of Superheroes release date is set for sometime in 2023. Beyond that, the teaser trailer and announcement didn't give any sort of idea of when the game could release.
If we're to use historic Niantic release trends as a basis, though, expect a Summer release if all things go well.
The game could hit a 'soft launch' state in the first few months of 2023 for places like Australia - a common testing bed for mobile games and a place that will be in the height of Summer at the time, which is obviously the preferred time for AR-based outdoor experiences like this, with a potential wider rollout in the Summer months of July, August, or September for the Northern Hemisphere.
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That being said, there's still the possibility that the game could never see the light of day. Whether down to budget cuts or gameplay issues, a multitude of previously announced Niantic games have been shelved in recent years both before and after soft launch periods.
Though games made in partnership with Nintendo like Pokemon GO and Pikmin Bloom have managed to release, Harry Potter Wizards Unite shut down recently, Catan World Explorers was cancelled without ever leaving its Australian soft launch state, and other games like Transformers have been canned before ever seeing the light of day.
Another Niantic title that's in development, NBA All World, still hasn't had much said about it since it's reveal earlier in the year - immediately after the cancellation of a bunch of other projects.
Having the might of a big brand behind you does seem to help get things to market (even if it is just to avoid an embarrassing headline), but as history has shown with Niantic, it's quick to rush into attempting to copy the success of Pokemon Go with just about any franchise out there, but it's also not afraid to admit when things aren't quite panning out.
What the Marvel World of Superheroes gameplay like?
That's another thing that the teaser trailer didn't make apparent. Without any in-game visuals, we're completely in the dark when it comes to the Marvel World of Superheroes gameplay elements.
What the teaser trailer showed was a bunch of kids in a park staring up at the sky as a portal opened above. After that, they swiped their phones and manifested the powers of superheroes like Cyclops, Doctor Strange, and Thor. They begin blasting attacks in all directions, and the camera pans out to show more people doing the same all around the park. It's chaos.
But that's where it ends. Theirs another pan out to show planet earth, which then becomes the O in the 'We are all heroes' tagline. That's it.
The Marvel World of Superheroes website has a little more to say about it all, but not much that really says exactly how we'll going about foiling AR crimes.
YOUR SUPER HERO JOURNEY BEGINS IN 2023 - Become a Marvel Super Hero in the real world. Create your own hero, patrol your neighborhood to foil crimes, and team up with your friends as well as iconic Marvel heroes such as Spider-Man, Captain America, and Wolverine to save the Multiverse!
Can you make your own character in Marvel World of Superheroes?
An interview with a few key developers over on the Niantic Labs website does let slip that players will be designing their own superheroes in-game and "form their own origin stories" by interacting with other superheroes across not only the augmented reality of the real-world, but versions of Marvel's many alternate dimensions as well.
In the interview Neil Melville, the title's lead game designer, said "I am very excited about the character avatar system in MARVEL World of Heroes, because it gives a lot of flexibility for players to express different body types, gender expressions, and outfit customization."
How to pre-register for Marvel World of Superheroes
If you really want to sign yourself up to another thing you can just download when it launches, you can stuff your details into the Marvel World of Superheroes website to pre-register for the game right now.
And that's your lot. With no big events on the horizon for more info to drop, we're either going to have to wait for The Game Awards to potentially see more, or a seemingly random Niantic announcement. Until then, check out how to get Disney Dreamlight Valley star coins fast if you're enthralled by that one.
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