Despite releasing over two years ago and failing to meet Square Enix's financial expectations, developer Crystal Dynamics continues to offer post-launch support for Marvel's Avengers. The next update is slated to arrive later this month and will introduce The Winter Soldier as a playable character.
We've known for a while now that Bucky Barnes would be the next character to join the action RPG, but it was officially confirmed that the 2.7 Update will go live on November 29th. In addition to the Winter Soldier, the update will also add the Cloning Lab Omega-Level Threat.
The Winter Soldier will offer players a "purely assault-focused" gameplay style with an emphasis on dealing damage. The master assassin excels at as both a ranged marksman and an expert hand-to-hand combatant.
As far as playstyle, his moveset will resemble that of Captain America and Black Widow. However, his years of indoctrination at the hands of the Soviets and his cybernetic enhancements will make him feel somewhat different. He'll also have new animations, a new full skill tree and unique heroic abilities.
Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier, will be voiced by Scott Porter in the game. Porter previously voiced Bucky in LEGO Marvel's Avengers but is also known from Friday Night Lights, Hart of Dixie, and Ultimate Spider-Man.
The Winter Soldier will launch with his own heroic mission chain that "sees the Avengers help him regain his confidence in his capacity for good and deal with the trauma inflicted on him by his captors." Completing this mission will reward players with Bucky's iconic outfit.
The other big highlight in the upcoming update is the Cloning Lab Omega-Level Threat. This is a new end-game challenge that is headlined by a climactic confrontation with MODOK. It's a challenging AIM base that players must fight through before facing off one last time against MODOK, who has developed new tactics since players last confronted him.
The Cloning Lab is designed for four heroes that are Power Level 175. Completing it will reward players with new gear and higher-level gear than ever before, raising the power-level cap to 185.
The Winter Soldier will be the sixth playable character added to Marvel's Avengers since the game's release. He joins Kate Bishop, Clint Barton, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Jane Foster alongside original Avengers Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Ms. Marvel.
Crystal Dynamics didn't drop any hints of additional characters to come after The Winter Soldier but did say future updates will continue with ongoing revisions and tuning to recently released heroes.