It's The Perfect Time For This Marvel Hero To Get Their Own Game (& I Can Prove It)

Summary Deadpool game prices have drastically risen due to licensing, with all versions now reaching over $100 on second-hand sites.

Deadpool's skillset is ideal for gaming, sparking hope for a new game as Marvel focuses on AAA titles with various heroes.

Promotional tie-ins for Deadpool & Wolverine continue to be popular, including an Xbox controller sweepstakes with Deadpool theme, and with the character most likely appearing more in the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward, Marvel would be wise to consider a new game.

With the recent release of Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine breaking box-office records and being largely well-received by audiences and critics, now feels like the perfect time for the Merc with the Mouth to return to the world of gaming. Wolverine is already getting his own title with Insomniac's Marvel's Wolverine - although after nearly three years since its announcement trailer, fans still haven't seen anything official from Insomniac regarding the title, only the videos and content shared as part of the hack on the studio - but as much as I like the Deadpool character, considering how the Marvel's Wolverine game is going for a more "mature" tone, I feel an appearance from Deadpool would likely be too disruptive for it to work, with even a cameo potentially being too jarring.

Over the years, Deadpool has appeared in a variety of different games, beginning with 2005's X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse, through to the more recent Marvel's Midnight Suns where he joined the strategy title as a post-launch character. Back in June 2013, however, High Moon Studios and Activision put Deadpool front and center in his own solo game for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC and showed just how well-suited the character is to gaming with combat that combined Deadpool's array of melee weapons with third-person shooter gameplay and featured the zany humor the character is known for in several iterations.

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The Deadpool Game Has Seen A Major Price-Increase Since Its Delisting

The Title Was Delisted In 2014 And Again In 2017

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I was fortunate enough that I got the Deadpool game back in 2013 when it first launched, but those who want to legitimately get their hands on the game now will likely have to pay an inflated price due to its scarcity. Due to the licensing deal Activision had with Marvel expiring, Deadpool was delisted from all digital storefronts in 2014. It was then remastered for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2015 in preparation for the 2016 Deadpool movie, but was once again removed for the same licensing reasons just a couple of years later in 2017.

Now, those looking to play the Deadpool game on consoles will have to turn to the second-hand physical media market, where according to Price Charting, the original PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Deadpool sell for $30, the Xbox One version goes for $50 and the PS4 version comes in at the most expensive price of $90. New listings for the game on second-hand sites such as eBay now show that all versions of the game have seen a further increase and are mostly listed at over $100 USD, and some copies are selling for considerably more, with a PS4 version going for $295 as of the time of writing.

I had some issues with the game - mainly due to its repetitive gameplay, which I certainly started to feel when playing the final act of the game when it became a barrage of enemies thrown at Deadpool - even though overall I did have fun, but considering it is 11 years old, and the remaster is 9, that is pretty pricey, and certainly not worth it. These console prices are nothing compared to the price players would have to be prepared to fork over for a PC version of the game though. Where PC gaming is predominantly digital, those looking for a Deadpool Steam key would be looking at prices as high as $800, according to GG Deals, which quite frankly is absurd. Please don't pay that much for the Deadpool game. It's really not worth it, especially when the original developers and talent involved in the game won't even see a cent of it.

I had expressed some hope recently that the Deadpool game could return following High Moon Studios' Transformers titles - which were also delisted for IP licensing expirations - returning briefly to Xbox and Steam storefronts, even though they weren't available for purchase. Unfortunately, nothing has since materialized, even though it would have been the perfect time for Activision and Marvel to strike a deal to bring Deadpool back, even if it was only for a limited run, especially considering Wolverine makes an appearance in the game as well to further tie into the Deadpool & Wolverine movie hype.

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Deadpool & Wolverine's Promotional Tie-Ins Are Proving To Be Extremely Popular

With Xbox's "Cheeky" Controllers Being Praised By Fans

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There's been no shortage of Deadpool & Wolverine promotions, and as is often the case with Deadpool movies, many of these are through fourth-wall-breaking marketing campaigns that directly tie into the character's sense of humor, which I have loved. Seriously, the promotional campaigns for the Deadpool movies are almost as fun as the movies themselves at times and the teams involved must have a blast coming up with them. One notable case was the recent controller and console sweepstakes from Xbox, which contains an official Deadpool-themed Xbox Series X console that resembles the character's torso, but then the specially molded "cheeky" controller, which is shaped after Deadpool's butt and breaks the fourth-wall with a "Designed by Deadpool xoxo" signature. This further continued with an additional sweepstakes in which contestants could enter to win a similar "cheeky" controller based on Wolverine.

Players have until August 11, 2024, to enter the Cheeky Controller Sweepstakes via Xbox's X account and Microsoft's Instagram account, depending on which hero's design they want.

These tie-ins are clearly intended to appeal to the gaming community, who have already been vocal in their desire to purchase the controller rather than just try to win one - and honestly, I know the sweepstakes are intended to make these limited editions more valuable, but Xbox could be raking in the cash if it put it on the general retail market. However, because of the Activision licensing deal, there are currently very few games with Deadpool in them available.

Deadpool and Wolverine have both appeared as playable characters for a limited time in Fortnite, and both are in Marvel's Midnight Suns if players get the game's "The Good, the Bad, and the Undead" DLC. Alternatively, if players were fortunate enough to get Deadpool or the Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 & 2 bundle upon their Xbox One re-releases, they're playable on the Xbox Series X too, but still, there's nothing to the level that PlayStation had with its limited edition Marvel's Spider-Man 2 controller and console, where players could use it to play the new title once it released.

Related Every Upcoming Marvel Game Currently In Development (2024) Including the imminent arrival of Marvel's Wolverine, Marvel gaming fans can look forward to multiple titles hitting shelves in the coming years.

Deadpool Should Have A New Game

The Character's Skillset Is Ideal For Gaming

Unfortunately, it seems inevitable that even if the 2013 Deadpool game returned to storefronts, the same licensing deals will likely result in it being removed again at some point. However, Marvel Games has since been making a greater push in the world of AAA gaming by partnering with several different studios. Insomniac's Marvel Universe currently focuses on the Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Wolverine games with room for other heroes to appear, EA is developing Iron Man and Black Panther titles, Skydance New Media's World-War 2 set Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is due to release some time in 2025, a Blade game from Arkane Lyon was announced last December, and NetEase Games' multiversal hero-shooter Marvel Rivals is currently in its Closed Beta, suggesting a full release isn't too far away.

With Marvel's focus on AAA gaming again - Marvel went predominantly mobile for a few years following the Activision deal ending - I have hope that the company could look at the success of the Deadpool character and have another go at adapting him in gaming. Deadpool is a character whose skillset should be ideal for gaming, and considering the popularity the character has seen over the years, especially with the added mainstream audience awareness of the character through the extremely successful trio of movies, following the character's introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe through Deadpool & Wolverine and the likelihood he will return, it seems like the perfect time for him to have another title. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 also briefly crossed over with Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse as both released in the same year, so there's plenty of potential for whatever the next MCU Deadpool appearance is to tie into the game for further fourth-wall-breaking shenanigans.

Sources: Price Charting, eBay, GG Deals