There's been no shortage of new games for Marvel fans to sink their teeth into in the past few years.
From PlayStation exclusives such as Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales to Square Enix's Marvel's Avengers, fans have been able to play as and alongside a vast assortment of characters pulled from the pages of their favorite comics.
Now, a gaming insider is adamant that the Guardians of the Galaxy will be the next superhero team taking center stage in an upcoming title.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY IN PRODUCTION AT SQUARE ENIX
In a recent episode of the Game Mess podcast, via Comicbook.com, host Jeff Grubb claimed a game based on the Guardians of the Galaxy is in production at the studio behind Marvel's Avengers, Square Enix.
When discussing leaks of Square Enix's product slate, Grubb referenced the long-rumored title saying, "I heard Guardians of the Galaxy was gonna be made by Square Enix and... yea... that's real."
Though he noted multiple sources have leaked the same information, Grubb did say that all this should still be taken with a grain of salt as "It's gonna be the kind of thing that's gonna be the source of speculation:"
"It's gonna be the kind of thing that's gonna be a source of speculation. When I'm not the only one that has it and everyone in the world has it, at that point I'm gonna do my best to confirm what I can confirm. Yea, Square Enix is apparently in the works of a Guardians of the Galaxy game. In terms of what that means, what that looks like? I don't know."
WILL GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF MARVEL'S AVENGERS?
If the rumors prove true, fans will likely approach this game cautiously and not without good reason. Marvel's Avengers was heavily hyped and failed to deliver in many ways. Despite a very enjoyable single-player story featuring Ms. Marvel alongside the famous Avengers roster, the game was ultimately brought down by the decision to make it a live service in the vein of games like Destiny 2.
If a potential Guardians game is going to succeed, Square Enix will need to listen to the well-deserved criticisms of its last Marvel title. Simply put, if Guardians of the Galaxy is Marvel's Avengers with a sarcastic space outlaw and a trash-talking raccoon, it's going to fail.
If Square Enix realizes that endlessly smashing hordes of minions with giant health pools doesn't make the player feel very super, they could potentially deliver an awesome experience.
Portions of the Avengers campaign were breathtaking cinematic experiences. A Guardians game will need to deliver those moments more consistently than its predecessor to win the loyalty of fans.