Marvel could throw its hat into the ring of a popular genre after an MCU project

Wonder has experimented with a myriad of different genres and game types over the years. From open-world action adventures, to turn-based strategy games with an occult twist, to live-service co-op games, and even a handful of VR titles, Marvel has made a variety of video game experiences available for a wide range of public.

But if you look back at the last decade or two of Marvel video game production, the vast majority of experiences tend to be third-person action games with a Teen ESRB rating or lower. While these games may tackle heavier themes and contain plenty of dramatic moments, overall they try to remain lighthearted. While this is obviously a natural fit for the Marvel brand, it might be nice if, from time to time, Marvel experimented with darker, more mature themes and features. For example, there's a type of horror game that could be a great fit for Marvel next year.

Marvel Zombies could pave the way for a new type of Marvel video game

The Marvel Zombies comic offers great inspiration

In November 2005, a series of The latest Fantastic Four comics titled “Crossover” reached their peak. In this run, Reed Richards is contacted by a version of himself in an alternate universe and crosses that universe. This universe ends up hosting zombiefied versions of various Marvel heroes and villains, serving as a backdoor pilot for the Marvel Zombies race that would begin just a month later.

Published between December 2005 and April 2007, Marvel Zombies was originally a five-issue limited series written by Robert Kirman (of The walking dead fame) and illustrated by Sean Phillips. This series follows the anticipated alternative Earth-2149 The latest Fantastic Fourwhere a virus has transformed Earth's mightiest heroes and villains into flesh-eating zombies. However, unlike most zombie novels, Marvel ZombiesMeat eaters retain most of their cognitive abilities and superpowers. The horror comes from what these heroes and villains would do to satiate their hunger.

From that 2005-2007 miniseries, Marvel Zombies has published a multitude of sequels and spin-offs, essentially becoming an entire Marvel comic series in its own right. The most recent entry in the series was Marvel Zombies: Dawn of Decaya four-issue series that began in September and is set to end in December.

The upcoming Marvel Zombies Disney+ series could lay the groundwork for a game

In 2021, Marvel released the What if…? animated show on Disney+. One of the episodes of the anthology show, What if…zombies?took direct inspiration from Marvel Zombies comic series, although in this continuity the Avengers do not get a virus from an alien but from Janet van Dyne, who contracted something in the Quantum Realm.

When Bruce Banner is sent back to Earth to warn the world of Thanos' imminent arrival, he is ambushed by a horde of zombies, including Doctor Strange and Iron Man. The rest of the episode follows the survivors as Wasp , Spider-Man, Hulk, Black Panther and Vision as they try to find a cure for the zombie virus. A four-episode continuation of this storyline will be released in October 2025 under the banner Marvel Zombies.

What a Marvel Zombies video game might look like

The imminent Marvel Zombies it gives Marvel the rare opportunity to make a more mature game and experiment with a genre they've never dabbled in before. A Left 4 DeadZombie game style could work really well for a Marvel Zombies adaptation, allowing players to undertake a few cooperative zombie-killing missions as a band of iconic heroes or villains in a series of famous Marvel locations.

Every few levels, players could get the chance to face a Zombified version of a beloved Marvel character. And just as the show and the comic would be adapting, a core appeal of a Marvel Zombies the video game would allow players to fight heroes they usually never get to face, like Captain America or Spider-Man. THE Marvel Zombies the theme would also allow for a little more gore than Marvel games are used to.