Marvel’s Avengers to Receive PlayStation-Exclusive Spider-Man DLC

In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Crystal Dynamics Associate Art Director Jeff Adams announced that Spider-Man will be added to the Marvel’s Avengers roster in early 2021 and will be exclusive to PlayStation platforms. The character DLC will be free for anyone who owns the base game, which releases on PS4 on September 4, 2020. A free PS5 upgrade for the game will be available later this year.

Specific details on the DLC are sparse. Adams mentions in his post that Spidey’s character design will be inspired by comic artists Steve Ditko and John Romita Sr., and an in-game event “will introduce him to the wider world of Marvel’s Avengers.” No concept art or screenshots were provided, so we’ll have to wait to see exactly what Spider-Man will look like in the game.

While the DLC announcement is great news for those who plan to play on PlayStation, players in other ecosystems are not as enthusiastic. There was significant backlash on social media after the announcement, with many decrying the exclusivity deal as anti-consumer. Even some PlayStation players chimed in and said it wasn’t fair that Xbox and PC players won’t get access to such a beloved character. It remains unclear at this point if the DLC is a timed or permanent exclusive for PS4 and PS5.

Spider-Man and Sony have a pretty close relationship. Sony Pictures has owned the wall crawler’s film rights since 1985, and put them to good use with the release of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man in 2002. More recently, Sony Interactive Entertainment released Marvel’s Spider-Man exclusively on PS4 in 2018, which went on to become one of the platform’s best-selling exclusive games. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, “the next adventure in the Marvel’s Spider-Man universe,” will release on PS5 this holiday season.