When you deliberation of Disney today, there’s a bully accidental either Star Wars oregon the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes to mind. That’s not astonishing either – it’s the 2 properties Disney pumps the astir clip and wealth into.
In games, it seems arsenic if Disney exclusively pours resources into them – yes, there’s Kingdom Hearts, which has been large for decades but it seems that bid is heading into a decidedly little Disney-based aboriginal – and it’s a shame due to the fact that the astir 100-year-old institution has truthful overmuch to connection to the video crippled space, some to classical fans and caller ones alike. That’s wherefore Disney needs to pat into its history.
I emotion a bully Star Wars oregon MCU flick, and I, for the astir part, emotion a crippled acceptable successful a postulation acold far distant oregon successful a Marvel-based timeline. But let’s beryllium honest: we astir ever cognize what we’re getting erstwhile Lucasfilm oregon Marvel flashes connected surface erstwhile we footwear up a game. If it’s Star Wars, you’re either getting a Jedi game, a dogfighting game, oregon a shooter.
On the Marvel broadside of things, games consciousness adjacent much indistinguishable. You cognize that MCU quality you love? Well, here’s a crippled utilizing a antithetic mentation of that quality with a third-person viewpoint and a slant towards action-adventure gameplay. There’s thing incorrect with this, and I’d reason that players arsenic a full aren't rather burnt retired connected these 2 Disney universes yet, but surely that time volition come.
In Disney’s defense, it is attempting to interruption retired of that mold a bit. XCOM developer Firaxis Games is presently making Marvel’s Midnight Suns, which is simply a turn-based, card-based instrumentality connected the spot of the (almost) aforesaid name. However, astatine the extremity of the day, it’s inactive a Marvel game, and 1 time erstwhile Marvel oversaturates the gaming market, radical mightiness beryllium wary of booting up immoderate crippled with that reddish logo connected the box, careless of genre.
Remember erstwhile Disney utilized to marque games (kinda) based connected its ain archetypal movies à la The Lion King? I tin instantly deliberation of immoderate movies precocious released by Disney that consciousness ripe for a game: Raya and the Last Dragon – marque it a Souls-like game if you’re feeling frisky, Disney, oregon adjacent thing akin to this year’s Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Moana is already acceptable up similar a video crippled successful pacing and narrative, with built-in bosses too. Give america her raft and let america sail astir the Pacific Ocean Assassin’s Creed Black Flag-style.
Make an Alice In Wonderland crippled that allows us, the player, to marque choices that hole everything incorrect astir the Tim Burton live-action remakes. Angels successful the Outfield – boom, there’s your sports game. Fantasia, evidently a euphony bushed crippled (and 1 that doesn’t usage Kinect, please). Finding Nemo could marque a large water ecosystem-building game. Frozen: A Let It Go karaoke acquisition writes itself. Bambi, intelligibly that’s a hunti...you cognize what, ne'er mind.
The constituent is, Disney has a treasure trove of movies and much to thin connected erstwhile it comes to processing games, and yet, we astir exclusively get Marvel and Star Wars games. The world is that those 2 names marque money, and they marque a batch of it, too. They’re besides large for endless sequels, but truthful are galore of Disney’s different franchises. Pirates of the Caribbean instantly comes to mind.
There’s a dearth of pirate games retired there, contempt pirates being the astir “uhhh yeah, pirates + video games = easiest fiscal slam dunk of all-time.” Sure, there’s Sea of Thieves, which I love, but that feels precise peculiar successful benignant and not for everyone. And yes, I cognize it got a Pirates of the Caribbean expansion, but that was ne'er going to beryllium arsenic palmy arsenic a standalone crippled based connected the IP, nor does it truly let for the sequels that Disney loves truthful much.
There’s besides Ubisoft’s Skull & Bones, but that’s stuck successful development hell, and who knows erstwhile that’s coming. Not lone does Pirates of the Caribbean person a three-movie past to gully connected – ohio yes, I decidedly americium alert determination are 5 movies – but it besides has implicit 50 years of Disney Parks thrust past to use. Want to debar utilizing movie characters? Easy, marque a crippled with Captain Redd from the classical ride.
Hell, marque a Halloweentown crippled and archer Hogwarts Legacy to footwear rocks. Okay, truthful possibly Halloweentown isn’t a existent Harry Potter killer, but you get the idea. What I’m saying is that the instauration for a large Disney crippled is retired there. In fact, determination are galore large foundations retired there, hundreds even. And yet, Disney continues to seemingly physique its empire connected conscionable Star Wars and Marvel. When you deliberation astir it, not processing games based connected different properties is truly conscionable wealth near connected the table, and oddly enough, that’s not truly Disney’s modus operandi.
Of course, determination is the full “mega-billion dollar institution decidedly knows its concern amended than idiosyncratic penning astir however they privation a Pirates of the Caribbean game” facet of this all, but adjacent if a crippled similar that doesn’t merchantability arsenic overmuch arsenic Star Wars oregon Marvel, it’s not similar Disney doesn’t person the currency to burn. Plus, let’s not enactment similar each 1 of these games is simply a slam dunk, particularly erstwhile Marvel’s Avengers, a crippled that perfectly should person been a slam dunk, was disappointing wide for Square Enix. So what gives? Just bash the thing, Disney.