Famed journalist and industry insider Jason Schreyer recently revealed via Twitter that Take-Two publisher CEO Strauss Zelnick told him in an interview that Marvel’s Midnight Suns, while well received, was a “commercial failure.”
Marvel’s Midnight Suns offers a different show than what is often associated with the popular franchise. Instead of the more standard combat you’d normally see in Marvel games, Midnight Suns features turn-based tactical combat that works around card-based abilities. With your chosen team of three heroes, you’ll fight off the bad guys by moving strategically across the terrain and planning your attacks efficiently, taking into account the cards you have available.
The game features almost every major Marvel character you can think of, and to the delight of hardcore Marvel fans, you can interact with all of them via the game’s secondary gameplay episode, The Abbey. This is the hub where you can upgrade your abilities and train, but most importantly, you can talk to any hero you want in a dating-like system as your relationship with them soars.
Its combat and writing were mostly praised by reviewers, and of course, Juggernaut Marvel IP has been associated with it, however, it still doesn’t seem to be able to turn a huge profit. Zelnick reportedly told Schreyer that he thought “it’s possible that the release period wasn’t ideal”, but that the game would likely continue to sell over time, just like other games offered by development studio Firaxis Games. Since the game was loved by many, word of mouth probably contributed to this.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns comes out on December 2, 2022, which may have already been a rough outing for the title, as it launched on the same day as Callisto Protocol and Need For Speed Unbound. Moreover, it was right after November, which included some high pedigree titles like God of War Ragnarok and Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. Although the Marvel IP is very popular, turn-based games don’t tend to have the same broad appeal as action games, which is another factor that can affect sales.
