Despite having only just been announced, the upcoming Iron Man game from Electronic Arts (EA) has received a promising update.
Earlier this year, it was rumored that an Iron Man project was in development for Xbox and PlayStation at Motive Video Game Studios. While the announcement didn't make it into any D23 presentation, less than two weeks later, the title was revealed to the world.
Led by Olivier Proulx, who worked on last year's The Guardians of the Galaxy game, the Iron Man project is set to feature an original story while focusing on giving people the experience of playing the iconic Tony Stark.
According to the official press release at the time, it was stated that the game had only just entered pre-production—which, by extension, meant it would be a long time until fans see a final product. However, now, it seems that the upcoming game is set to start playtesting.
Tony Stark's New Adventure Starts Playtesting
One month after being officially announced, it seems that EA Motive's upcoming Iron Man game is looking to start playtesting.
According to a new report from Insider Gaming, playtesting for the game is set to go from October 31 to November 2 as part of EA's 1-on-1 playtesting.
Despite being labeled as playtesting, it seems these sessions are more about feedback on what the developers are planning instead of actual gameplay being shown or offered. For those that take part in the work, EA could be sharing things such as plot points, game mechanics, game modes, menu layouts, and more.
In regards to the 1-on-1 sessions, the EA Playtesting website stated the following:
"Get an inside look at a game/product and talk through experience directly with an EA Researcher. They will ask you questions about your experiences, preferences, and other areas of interest. These conversations typically last between 30 and 120 minutes and may happen online or in person at one of our Player Experience Labs."
While it's not clear exactly how long Iron Man has been in development, playtesting like this seems to indicate that it's a little further along than many expected.
Iron Man is Only a Taste of What's to Come
Many will be excited to hear the studio is already looking for feedback (whether that be actual gameplay or just concept reviews). Still, gamers shouldn't get their hopes up when it comes to seeing a final version of the project anytime soon.
While Iron Man may be further along than some suspected, it's still almost certainly towards the beginning of its development cycle—something that's hinted at by the playtesting potentially not having any gameplay.
The upcoming game from EA Motive is only a small fraction of what Marvel is hoping to deliver when it comes to its slate of AAA games. For one, later this year, Fireaxis' Midnight Suns will be released, and next year is set to bring Spider-Man 2 and potentially Wolverine.
There's also Amy Hennig's big project, a World War II game featuring Black Panther and Steve Rogers, which was announced at D23.
Iron Man does not currently have a release window. However, it could safe to assume that the game won't release until 2024—the end of 2023 being the absolute earliest possible.