EA Announces Black Panther Game With Marvel, And It's Single-Player

Electronic Arts has officially announced that it is developing a Black Panther game as part of a deal with Marvel, but it's early days and plenty of questions remain unanswered. EA is also working on an Iron Man game with Marvel. EA said in September 2022 that it reached a long-term deal with Marvel, announcing at the time that Iron Man was the first of "several new games." At least one more game, bringing the total to three EA-developed Marvel games, is also in the works.

"Our mission is to build an expansive and reactive world that empowers players to experience what it is like to take on the mantle of Wakanda's protector, the Black Panther," EA said in a press release.

Cliffhanger Games is led by Kevin Stephens, who oversaw the production of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Monolith Productions. He joined EA in 2021 to build a new studio, and now its first game has finally been announced. Other members of the team at Cliffhanger worked on Halo, God of War, and Call of Duty.

"We're dedicated to delivering fans a definitive and authentic Black Panther experience, giving them more agency and control over their narrative than they have ever experienced in a story- driven video game. Wakanda is a rich SuperHero sandbox, and our mission is to develop an epic world for players who love Black Panther and want to explore the world of Wakanda as much as we do," Stephens said.

Stephens went on to say that the journey to create the Black Panther game is only now beginning, so fans probably shouldn't expect to play the title anytime soon. He promised that the new Black Panther game will have the "attention to detail and authenticity that the world of Black Panther deserves."

Part of the reason EA is announcing the Black Panther game now is to encourage developers to come work for the company. EA said it will continue to build out the development team "over the next few years," adding that the game is "still in early development with a long road ahead."

"But we know the foundation to any great story is to build an experienced team with diverse voices and perspectives and that’s what we want to build, especially with a super hero as important as Black Panther," EA said.

There is no word yet on platforms for the Black Panther game, but PS5 and Xbox Series X|S seem to be likely candidates.

On the more immediate horizon, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 from developer Insomniac launches this October for PlayStation 5. After that, Insomniac is making a Wolverine game.