The Avengers assemble in the first look at Square Enix's new online multiplayer game

Tonight, during its E3 press conference, publisher Square Enix finally showed off the only thing that could possibly outshine its long-in-the-works remake of Final Fantasy VII: A new Avengers video game. Earth’s mightiest heroes have been poorly served by proper video games for pretty much the entire lifespan of the MCU (there were some crummy Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America video games early on, but they’re not Worthy of the monster the MCU has become), but now that Captain America is old and Iron Man is dead, it’s finally time to put them in a big-budget action game that is not on a phone or the Nintendo Switch (sorry, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3).

Of course, this game isn’t canonical with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as indicated by the fact that the characters don’t use the actors’ likenesses, that Hawkeye isn’t there, and also, you know, that this trailer features Captain America dying in a Helicarrier crash. The trailer itself is a little light on information beyond story teases, but after showing it off, a developer from Crystal Dynamics (the Tomb Raider people!) took the stage to talk about how the game will let you play as these iconic heroes in solo or co-operative play and some high-minded stuff about learning to be powerful and being a hero and all that. There will also be some kind of ongoing online component, where you and your friends can team up to go on new Avenger adventures (with new missions and new characters), all of which will be free.

Marvel’s Avengers will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Google’s streaming Stadia platform on May 15, 2020.