Tech Industry Continues to Take a Beating with Marvel's Midnight Suns Dev Latest to Be Hit by Layoffs

Midnight Suns is a wonderful game crafted by talented people, some of whom have had their lives turned upside down by the whims of a billion dollar company. Here’s hoping they land on their feet.

Maybe it’s just me but the thought of selling a marvel fan a near traditional strategy game makes the result a little obvious.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m burnt out on the superheroes and villains of Marvel and DC. Been there, done that…too many times.

It seems like this generation of games is all about tweaking past experiences and making subtle improvements, and not so much about creating new, unique, mind-blowing experiences. But maybe it’s just me.

I wish everyone who worked there—and those who continue to work there—the best. They’re talented developers, that’s for sure.

My nephew was ranting on about this game (he thinks its brilliant) but i was a bit underwhelmed by it to be honest. The graphics are rudimentary and for a marvel game i found it to be pretty boring. I hope those that have been given the push find work soon and everything works out well for them.

Should of made an xcom game instead

I've loved pretty much everything Firaxis have put out but just couldn't bring myself to engage with anything Marvel anymore. I'm not even that hyped for the new Spider-Man.

Sorry to hear that. I played the trial and greatly enjoyed it. I'm definitely buying it next time it's on sale to do my part.

Sorry guys, will only be interested after a deep sale.

Well, since the "discerning players" are people who grown up with GTA, considering that Fortnite/COD the quintessential game, having nostalgia for pixelated games and claiming that 60 fps is the "only way to play video games",yet they adore Zelda TOK... these turn based games make you think, to analyse, to learn to play it, that is too much for the "discerning players"... of course the Marvel theme did not help, the lack of multiplaying and senseless killing do not help either... nothing like going killing people while you wear the most bombastic attire with your mates. I'm afraid the golden years of strategic games are lone gone and now, they are more a niche market...

@jgrangervikings1 Midnight Suns literally has a unique battle system. Not sure how much more innovation people want from a TRPG, but I think it’s extremely unfair to suggest the combat system in Midnight Suns is a rehash. If it’s not for you, fair enough but saying it isn’t new seems unfair.

Seems to be a hard sell for this to go against a free to play marvel snap tbh for wider consumer market.

@Toot1st yep I agree. Xcom 3 rather than over used marvel guff that seems to populate games today

I really enjoy Marvel Midnight Suns and would heartily recommend it, but I think there are some things going against it

1) The Marvel IP holds it back more than it helps it. My favourite characters in the game were the ones I knew least about (Magika, Nico, The Caretaker). These strategy games are mostly about getting to know your characters and it doesn't work so well for characters you already know. Amongst the bigger names, the best were those who were different from the depictions I'm familiar with (Doctor Strange). The game also doesn't recreate the feeling of being a hero, so it's not tapping into the core Marvel fantasy. Instead it's tapping into the core strategy game fantasy (which it does well).

2) The games economy systems are broken. There's an emphasis on time, choice and resources and yet you have infinite time and resources.

Not surprised the whole tech industry is laying off people

I played the demo and it seemed to be pretty bland, and trying to please too many people at once. Firaxis normally make excellent games but this was a very simple strategy game combined with a very simple card game combined with totally cringe-worthy MCU fluff.

If I want a strategy game I'll play Civ, FFT or Crusader Kings, etc. If I want a card game there's obviously MtG, but also Library Of Ruina and loads of other great ones on Steam. I think the genres were off-putting to the average 12-year-old lured in by the license, and to most fans of those genres they were woefully simplified in a failed attempt to not put off said kids. The old adage of chasing too many rabbits at once and losing all of them. Also reminds me of how Forspoken was too western for typical Japanese gamers and too Japanese for typical western gamers; you can't pull in too many directions at once.

It's always a bummer to be reminded how bad Midnight Suns bombed.
I always stayed away from card based and strategy games. Never was my thing.
Took a chance and this game does a great job making sure noobs aren't lost or overwhelmed.
It's a bit rough around the edges with little graphic things and the game crashed above average (crashes stopped since last patch), but nothing overly severe and under the technical hurdles....
Man, the gameplay is good and the fan service in the dialogue and how far they go in mentioning all the heroes in the Marvel Universe is a lot of fun for comic book fans.
I was impressed that in new game plus they even included new wardrobe unlocks, must be at least 50 new pieces, that are not offered in the first time through at any point.
It's a fun little bonus to see for plus players, there when it didn't need to be.
And the clothes in plus were actually better, nods to different comic book heroes, like Hunter's Fantastic Four shirt, stuff like that.
There was a lot of fan love.
I just passed 200 hours in and still play it a bit every day.
Sad to think the developers, who put much love into the game, didn't get the credit they deserve on a wider scale.
Also bummed that a sequel looks unlikely after these sales. They had plans with something where Doctor Doom would be the main bad guy.
But they got me into strategy! I bought Xcom 2 because of them. I never would have given that a chance if not for Marvel Suns, a truly unique and great game.
I never get bored with it.

I’m thoroughly enjoying Midnight Suns. Making the core MS group come from the “younger” Marvel teams like New Mutants and Runaways adds a nice flair, as I’m not as familiar with their backstories…although I do remember the Inferno series when Magik was tricked into opening a portal from Limbo so the demons could attack Earth.

MS is a great remote play game. You just have to either know the cards or have a large screen. Teeny tiny text otherwise.

@Northern_munkey It is interesting how polar opposite reactions tend to be with those who play it.
Either it's incredible or it's boring. No inbetween.
Which I'm not suggesting there should be. Only this style of game seems to have a select crowd more extreme in it's cut off than normal.
It is a cerebral game where it's understandable some want something faster paced and more reflex demanding when they game.
I like it all, I love Midnight Suns, Assassin's Creed and Call Of Duty styles.
It's a shame it didn't sell better, but what can you do? People like what they like and more seem to not like rts than do.

The combat and mechanics were solid and fun. The story telling and script writing were cringe beyond belief, like going back to games of 20 years ago bad.
Regardless, its always a shame to see such layoffs. Devs are always the ones to pay for the poor strategic directions of the management, and its galling to see the profits these companies are making as they fire yet more people they could easily afford to keep and restructure.
Its no different now than it was in the past - I worked AAA titles for 20 years and 50% of everything I worked on never made it to release. Some years I was redundant twice in a year. Fortunately it was a smaller community back then and there would always be someone waiting outside as we were marched out waiting to hire us for their studio... I hope that these guys find new work really quickly.

@burning_as_souls i dont mind rts games although they are not my go to genre. I loved the original xcom but didnt really like the latest outing. I think i had rebel star raiders on my spectrum 128k back in the day which i think was made by the same person (julian gollop?) I think it was £1.99 on the firebird label but i could be wrong. Anyhow i didnt think midnight suns was rubbish just a tad over rated but i loved gotham knights so what do i know 🤣

@Titntin I've seen a lot of people complain about the writing. I found it to be hilarious and brilliant, I really enjoyed it, and this is from someone who typically skims stories and dialogue. I've been really confused why people have been so critical of the writing as it's meant to be tongue-in-cheek and doesn't take itself too seriously, this seemed pretty obvious to me.

Regarding the Marvel IP, I also don't get the hate. Who cares? I found the characters to be written and voiced very well and uniquely, and every character had a very distinct personality which made the relationship building stuff engaging (also something I typically don't care for). Taking the time to build the relationships actually had tangible benefits. Additionally, outside of the dialog, in combat every character had a very distinct skillset which added much more depth to the game.

All that being said, add me to the list of people who absolutely loved the game. I found it to be excellent. I personally put over 100 hours into it and burned through the campaign and all of the DLC and was left wanting more.

@gonzilla I'm delighted you enjoyed it mate and I know you are not the only one who didnt get why someone might not like the script.
Its tough to critique it a sentence or two here, but if you were to watch Skillups review of it on youtube, I'm very much aligned with his thoughts on this game (but I don't always agree with him). suffice to say that the writing, for me, did not feel in keeping with the characters at all and I wish it did and the premise for character development and interaction was one of the big draws of the concept for me.
I can't comment on the marvel thing, I've not over played them characters and was not put of by them at all, except that the script did not match the characters for me. I also liked the skillsets and the way that fed into the combat mechanics -combat was tight and definitely the best about the title for me.

Its a shame more people didnt enjoy it like you did.

I was all in until I found out it was a card RNG battle system.

Great game i was hoping for a sequel or something else like it. Utter shame.

The problem for me was the different versions and the abundance of DLC before actual release annoys me so much. Let's be honest the release was niche already and you push several editions and DLC so stupid.

@Flaming_Kaiser Literally no different than plenty of other games nowadays 😅 There was the game, game+skins, and game+skins+season pass (all DLC). That's it. No different than countless other games that follow the exact same model. Nothing confusing here.

All of the DLC all came out after the game was released, starting with the Deadpool DLC which came out about a month after release, with the additional character DLCs coming out roughly one month apart since then. There wasn't an abundance of DLC before actual release. Again nothing surprising here.

@ShadowofSparta Fair enough. It’s a new turn-based battle system that implements cards, and it features lots of Marvel superheroes and villains, a fun story, and high production values. Cool.

I’m honestly not sure what it’d take to move the needle for me. I just know my needle hasn’t moved when I’ve watched gameplay. It doesn’t seem to be moving other gamers’ needles, either, since it hasn’t sold well. Maybe it’s been poorly marketed. Not sure. Anyway, I’m glad you really dig it.

@jgrangervikings1 Think I know what you mean. I watched a lot of great reviews on it but thought “meh, will wait for a <£20 sale”. But then I played it during its free trial week and loved it. I think once you get into the system, it feels great, but maybe it’s just something that’s not come across gameplay and trailers. It’s such a shame it’s not doing well because this game format is practically screaming out for an X-men sequel that improves on a lot of the rough aspects, but we’ll likely never get one. Some of the later hero one-to-ones you can have are really great and show they do understand the characters and lore.

@gonzilla Its my personal idea so I deside what I don't like. Don't make several different versions especially not with a niche title.

Make a base version and a complete version. The game didn't sell that great so i guess people really didn't like what they saw or the it was to complicated.

It's 3 versions and if you bought the PS4 and Xbox version you didn't get any extras. How about making the best experience for all the gamers across the platform so they will buy it day one instead of introducing FOMO and articles to tell what is extra.