Marvel has a pretty full slate in the upcoming years, and we're not talking about the movie landscape alone. The superhero giant is looking to leave its mark in the video game world as well, and the first step towards achieving that goal will come in the form of Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra. The highly-anticipated title was announced back in 2021 and quickly positioned itself as a must-play thanks to its amazing duo of protagonists and the fact that Amy Henning is in the director's chair. Her previous work in the Uncharted franchise alone is an indication that something special is on the horizon, even if not a lot has been revealed about the game itself.
Captain America and Black Panther will steal the spotlight on this upcoming adventure that looks to implement ground-breaking graphical technology. On the downside, we have yet to see a proper gameplay deep dive or get a release date. While Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra was originally set to arrive in 2025, the game skipped many important events such as The Game Awards 2024, leading to speculation that perhaps a delay would be on the cards. Fortunately, not only the original deadline remains in place, but now we have more information about a more specific release window as well thanks to Black Panther himself.
Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra targets a Christmas 2025 release date
Khary Payton, the voice behind Azzuri in Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, revealed the game is targeting a Christmas 2025 release date. This took place during an interview with The Direct at MultiCon — an event where real-life heroes such as Khary help raise funds for the L.A. fires. While this isn't an "official" reveal by Skydance New Media, it's nice to get a clear idea of when we could be stepping into the shoes of these big Marvel characters:
"We’re still planning on 2025… We’re thinking like a Christmas situation. But I'm so excited (...) it's going to be so good. Amy Henning who did the Uncharted series (...) is just so amazing."
Furthermore, it was also revealed that Steve Rogers and Azzuri will also venture into many corners of the Marvel Universe. While the main setting of Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is the city of Paris during World War ll, players will be able to "travel" to other places as revealed by Khary Payton:
"We're going to do some traveling. We're not going to be just sitting in a coffee shop in Paris. We're going to do some moving, so I'm excited for you to see it"
It's worth remembering that there will be four playable characters total in the game and two of them will be from Wakanda. So it begs the question: Could we venture into the streets of the fictional kingdom? It seems all the more likely if we remember that there's been no indication that Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra will be open world.
For starters, we can assume the game will follow a similar structure to that of the Uncharted saga given that Amy Henning is at the helm. If that's the case, then players would explore linear environments that completely vary from level to level. Besides, that would also explain how the upcoming title manages to be such a graphical wonder. If developers have more control over what's on-screen and what to render, they could aim for photo-realistic graphics that are harder to achieve in open-world games. Sure, Horizon: Forbbiden West and Red Death Redemption 2 are two amazing exceptions, but more often than not it is hard for consoles to load high-resolution textures and models while simultaneously rendering a huge map filled with many details and locations.
With that in mind, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume the Kindom of Wakanda could be one of the semi-restricted areas explored in one of the levels of the game. But why stop there? Other iconic Marvel locations such as Krakoa could also appear as well. But while it's interesting to speculate what's in store, we can't help but wonder: When are we going to get more official information?
If Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is indeed releasing this year, then Skydance New Media should start promoting it soon. With Summer Game Fest taking place on June 6, 2025, it would be the perfect place for Marvel's upcoming title to steal the spotlight with the release of a long-awaited gameplay reveal along with an exact release date. But if Marvel really wanted to make the most out of the remaining time until launch, then The Future Games Show should be the ideal place to start as other big games such as FBC: Firebreak will be presented there as well. The clock is ticking and, hopefully, that means we'll get more official news soon.
Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra will be released on 2025.