Marvel's Avengers' story is set 5 years after A-Day events

We had a chat with Crystal Dynamics' creative director for more details on plot and Easter eggs.

Square Enix's upcoming Avengers game has long been shrouded in mystery. At the company's E3 press conference, we finally got a good look at the title's visuals, cast and cinematic action sequences. We spoke to Noah Hughes, studio creative director at Crystal Dynamics, to learn more about the game's place in the Marvel universe and what fans can expect.

"The story opens with the heroes in San Francisco. They're opening a west coast headquarters for the Avengers and they're showing off a new helicarrier which is powered by a new technology. Something goes terribly wrong and there's a tragedy that day. The Avengers are blamed for those events and they disband."

This is the premise of the game's narrative which is set five years after this 'A-Day' event. In a well-deserved break from Thanos, there will be a new threat to the team and it's down to the player to get the heroes back together. The creative director was expectedly vague on the finer plot details but revealed more about its working relationship with Marvel Comics.

In terms of creative freedom, he told us that Crystal Dynamics is producing an original property whilst closely working with Marvel. The game doesn't actually take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the team has been collaborating with Bill Roseman, who had also worked on Insomniac's Spider-Man game, in order to deliver a familiar and faithful experience.

In addition, Hughes said you can expect to see nods and references to other Marvel properties: "We will be making sure the world is rooted in canon and that there is fictional grounding in the world and also some Easter eggs people love to see as well."

"We have such a dynamic group with deep relationships. Each of them is a superhero but they're also human - and as humans, we get to explore some of those relationships and their journeys," Hughes told us in regards to the game's characters and brand of cinematic storytelling.

Troy Baker and Nolan North will be two of the voice actors giving life to the Hulk and Iron Man respectively. The star-studded cast will also include the likes of Laura Bailey as Black Widow. The three voice actors have all appeared in many narrative-led titles such as Uncharted 4, so we can expect some fluid dialogue and a good amount of banter from the Avengers' cast.

Marvel's Avengers will be released on May 15, 2020, on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.