Marvel Heroes Is Shutting Down

Earlier today Gazillion Entertainment. As Disney owns the rights Marvel, that effectively means Marvel Heroes is shutting down. The message Kotaku claims they received from Disney reads:

“We regret to inform our Marvel Heroes fans that we have ended our relationship with Gazillion Entertainment, and that the Marvel Heroes games will be shut down. We would like to sincerely thank the players who ed the Marvel Heroes community, and will provide any further updates as they become available.”

The sudden announcement won't come as a shock to many veteran Marvel Heroes players. There have been no updates for over a month, and all social media s operated by Gazillion have been quiet. The recent Holloween event was a disaster, and an expected tie-in with the new Thor movie never materialized.

After the story broke and various internet sites started picking up on it, Gazillion made an official statement on their forums:

We’re sad to inform our players and our entire Marvel Heroes family that Marvel Heroes Omega will be shutting down. The Marvel Heroes servers will stay on until Dec 31, 2017, and we’ll be removing real money purchases as soon as possible. Players will be able to play the game entirely for free once this sunset period commences. We will share the exact date things go completely free as soon as we can.

We’ve had the privilege of entertaining and collaborating with our players for over four years. We’re extremely humbled by that privilege and wanted to get this message out: Thank you. Thank you to our players, our tireless employees, and everyone involved in the life of Marvel Heroes, Marvel Heroes 2015, Marvel Heroes 2016, and Marvel Heroes Omega.

There you have it. The Marvel Heroes servers will stay online until December 31, 2017, giving players a chance to try the superhero themed action RPG. While the gameplay in Marvel Heroes was similar to that of Path of Exile, it offered a unique aesthetic. Bright colors and a more modern setting replaced the grim fantasy backdrop we see so much of in the genre.

Superhero fans have suffered several setbacks on the MMO front in recent years. DC Universe Online are still running, and both are available free to play.

Further Reading: Kotaku Story, Official Statement