The Marvel Cinematic Universe has reshaped entertainment with its interconnected films and TV series, weaving a long-running, cohesive storyline. In contrast, Marvel video games operate in separate worlds, each telling standalone stories. For instance, Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man series is entirely unrelated to Eidos-Montreal's Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Likewise, upcoming titles like Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, Marvel's Wolverine, and Marvel’s Blade share no narrative connections.

However, Disney once explored creating a Marvel Gaming Universe, aiming to replicate the MCU's success for video games. So why did this ambitious plan never materialize?

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During an episode of The Fourth Curtain podcast, host Alexander Seropian and guest Alex Irvine discussed the MGU concept they both contributed to, shedding light on its cancellation.

Seropian, co-founder of Bungie (known for Halo and Destiny), later led Disney's gaming division before departing in 2012. Irvine, a veteran writer for Marvel games, recently crafted world-building, dialogue, and character backgrounds for the hit title Marvel Rivals.

Reflecting on his earlier Marvel projects, Irvine revealed details about the abandoned MGU.

"When I began working on Marvel games, there was a vision to establish a Marvel gaming universe mirroring the MCU's approach," Irvine recalled. "Unfortunately, it never gained traction."

Seropian clarified that the MGU was his "brainchild," but Disney executives ultimately declined to fund it.

"During my tenure at Disney, I pitched linking these games together—this was before the MCU took off," Seropian explained. "But the funding never came through."

Irvine, who previously worked on the acclaimed Halo ARG I Love Bees at Bungie, elaborated on how the MGU would have functioned.

"It was incredibly frustrating because we developed brilliant concepts for execution," he said.

"Coming from an ARG background, I imagined incorporating interactive elements. We envisioned a central hub connecting all games, allowing players to transition between titles. We could integrate comics, original content, and more. As Alex mentioned, without funding, we shifted to producing individual games."

Why did the MGU fail to secure internal support? Irvine speculated that the concept's complexity deterred certain Disney decision-makers.

"Even back then, we grappled with questions like: How would the MGU differentiate from comics and films? How would we maintain continuity? These complexities seemed to overwhelm some at Disney," Irvine noted.

It's intriguing to imagine an alternate reality where the MGU received proper funding. Perhaps Insomniac's Spider-Man games would have shared a universe with Square Enix's Marvel's Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, featuring cross-game character cameos or culminating in an Endgame-level event.

Looking forward, speculation surrounds Insomniac's Marvel's Wolverine. Will it inhabit the same universe as Marvel's Spider-Man? Could Spider-Man or other characters from those games appear in Wolverine?

Ultimately, the MGU joins the ranks of abandoned gaming concepts. Yet, in some parallel universe, it might already be a thriving reality...