On the eve of the release of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, EA Motive offered an update for its own superhero game -- the currently untitled Iron Man project.
The Iron Man game was first announced over a year ago, but EA hasn't talked much about the game since. That's because Motive was largely focused on the Dead Space remake, which was released in January of this year.
In the studio update, Patrick Klaus, Motive General Manager, confirmed that the team's focus has since switched to the Iron Man project, which is still "early in pre-production."
"We’re still early in pre-production and taking our time to make sure we set the best possible foundation for development," Klaus wrote. "But already, we’re finding so many opportunities to explore story, design and gameplay with Iron Man, and it’s exciting to see the fantasy start coming alive."
As part of the pre-production process, Motive has chosen Unreal Engine 5 to be the game engine, "in order to empower the dev team to work their magic and create something really special." Unreal Engine 5 is considered one of the industry's premiere game engines, and the world's "most open and advanced real-time 3D creation tool."
Of course, there's a lot more that goes into developing a game besides selecting the game engine. EA Motive is looking to create an authentic Iron Man experience and in order to do so, they've put in place a Community Council "made up of Iron Man and Marvel fans." According to Klaus, this council "will be offering feedback on pretty much everything throughout the development process."
Superhero games are often hit or miss. For every Marvel's Spider-Man there's a Marvel's Avengers. By seeking feedback from actual Marvel enthusiasts and fans of the character, we'll hopefully get an Iron Man game that is both fun and authentic to the source material.
Not much is known about the Iron Man game, other than it will be a single-player, third-person, action-adventure. The news of it being single-player only should at least help put some minds at ease that this won't be an always-online games-as-a-service take.
According to the original announcement, the game will feature "an original narrative that taps into the rich history of Iron Man, channeling the complexity, charisma, and creative genius of Tony Stark, and enabling players to feel what it’s like to truly play as Iron Man."
No release date or platforms have been announced but seeing as how the game is still in early pre-production, it's probably at least a few years away. With this timeline, I wouldn't be surprised to see it released for the next generation of gaming consoles coming after the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.