Marvel is lapping DC in video games right now, and it isn’t close

Closing out Wednesday’s PlayStation State of Play was a banger of an announcement: Sony revealed Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, a tag-team fighter from Arc System Works (Dragon Ball FighterZ, Guilty Gear Strive). Excitement could not be higher for the anime-inspired fighter coming to PlayStation 5 and PC next year, and the buzz around it has only illuminated how well Marvel is dominating video games right now — especially when compared to the Distinguished Competition, DC.

Marvel Tōkon’s announcement comes after a string of successful video games featuring Marvel characters across genres; Marvel is crushing the mobile market with Marvel Snap, the hero shooter category with Marvel Rivals, and the single-player space with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Insomniac’s previous Spidey games. Marvel’s games offer something for every type of gamer and, even when its games aren’t commercial hits, they can still land with players and critics. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Marvel’s Midnight Suns are two of my favorite games of this generation, and I still hold out hope for sequels to them (no matter how unlikely they are).

Contrast that with DC, whose characters last saw success in the PS4/Xbox One days. It’s been eight years since Injustice 2 dropped, DC’s last objectively great game. A full decade has passed since Batman: Arkham Knight, though even that title was a bit of a letdown for some players compared to the previous Arkham games (a little less Batmobile would have gone a long way).

DC struck gold with Rocksteady’s Arkham series, releasing a series of hits from 2009-2015, yet followed that success with some curious decisions. Not one, but two Batman: Arkham VR games were released, the first in 2016 and the second in 2024 exclusively for the Meta Quest 3 (TIL the Meta Quest 3 has exclusive titles). Batman: Arkham Shadow garnered a positive reception at launch, but, I mean, are you looking to Meta Quest 3 to get your Batman: Arkham fix? Didn’t think so.

Then there was Gotham Knights. Despite the 2022 game featuring members of the Batfamily, it has no connection to the Arkham series. While continuing the Arkham series storyline wouldn’t have saved Gotham Knights and its repetitive structure from a mediocre reception, it could have at least given fans of Rocksteady’s series a reason to check it out. Instead, it’s become a one-off dud.

DC’s other most notable title of this generation is Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which was Rocksteady’s continuation of the Arkham series. Its multiplayer and live service ambitions quickly sunk it, and now Rocksteady is pivoting back to Batman and the single-player space, according to a Bloomberg report from earlier this year. That Batman game is likely years away (if it ever sees light of day), and it’s increasingly likely that Rocksteady and DC as a whole go the entire PS5/Xbox Series X generation without a hit game.

Marvel isn’t without its duds either; Marvel’s Avengers faltered with its own crack at the live service model (and now let us hope this trend is over) and repetitive gameplay. A Black Panther game was also just cancelled that would have seen an evolved version of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor’s Nemesis System — months after Warner Bros. cancelled a Wonder Woman game from Monolith, the creators of the Nemesis System.

Still, one comics giant is more obviously on an upwards trajectory than the other. Marvel is succeeding at featuring A-list characters like Spider-Man (both of ‘em) in games as well as spotlighting lesser-known heroes like Magik in Midnight Suns or freakin’ Jeff the Land Shark in Marvel Rivals, while DC is struggling getting its Trinity front and center. Aside from Marvel Tōkon, Marvel also has Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, Marvel’s Wolverine, Marvel’s Blade, and an Iron Man game in the pipeline. Meanwhile, DC has, if it ever actually comes out, The Wolf Among Us 2, which players may not even realize is based on the comics series Fables from DC Comics’ Vertigo line.

Hopefully for Wednesday Warriors who want to embody their favorite heroes in video games, DC and Warner Bros. get their acts together sooner rather than later — all it could take is the announcement of an Injustice 3 for DC to build back some momentum. Until that happens (and please, NetherRealm, make it happen), Marvel will continue to supply comics fans with what they want: some kick-ass superhero games.