[Update: 2pm PT] We incorrectly wrote Brad instead of Brian in this story, a mistake that wasn't caught initially. We apologize to Brian and our readers for this error.
[Updated story below]
Brian Waggoner, formerly of the Marvel Heroes team, is joining another Marvel game, this time helping Crystal Dynamics with their maligned live-service game, Marvel's Avengers.
The announcement was made on Twitter yesterday, with Waggoner announcing that at the end of next month he'll be making the move from EA Sports to Crystal Dynamics to work on Avengers.
"Well, the time has come. I can finally announce that at the end of next month, I'll be leaving [EA Sports] and joining ]Crystal Dynamics] as a System Designer on [Marvel's Avengers]," Waggoner announced on Twitter Tuesday. Waggoner states in the tweet that he'll be working on new systems and features for the game.
Well, the time has come. I can finally announce that at the end of next month, I'll be leaving @EASPORTS and joining @CrystalDynamics as a System Designer on @PlayAvengers. I'm really excited to join that team and help them build new systems and features for the game!
— Brian Waggoner (@HeyItsBWags) April 27, 2021
He continued, talking about how everything at Gazillion, the team behind Marvel Heroes went down and how he wasn't sure if he'd want to work on another Marvel game afterwards. However, Brian cites the passion at Crystal Dynamics as a reason to his choice to make the move to the new studio.
"After what happened at Gazillion, I wasn't ever sure if I wanted to work on another Marvel game again. Talking to the team at Crystal, seeing their passion for making a game the fans love andknowing the potential of the product were all big factors for me in making my choice."
While Waggoner isn't necessarily going to ride in and save Avenger's by himself, it's a great sign for those still interested in the game that Crystal Dynamics is invested in improving it over the long haul. This is something Waggoner alluded to as well in a follow-up Tweet to his announcement, stating that the team was "very receptive" to suggestions and feedback he had about Avengers.
One of the things that convinced me to take the job was the leadership of Crystal Dynamics telling me to give them honest feedback about the game and its issues and telling me there were no egos in the room. I did and they were very receptive to my suggestions.
— Brian Waggoner (@HeyItsBWags) April 27, 2021
It'll definitely be interesting to see how Waggoner's addition to Marvel's Avengers helps improve the game over time. Currently Avengers is struggling to excite fans, even with stories from fan favorite characers like Hawkeye really not doing enough to keep some player's interest. However, the team at Crystal Dynamics has content planned for the year, and with the addition of Waggoner, it shows the team is in it for the long-haul to help get Avengers where it needs to be.
