The announcement of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order was one of the biggest bombshells at this month’s Game Awards. After all, it’s been nearly a decade since the franchise’s last entry hit store shelves. Even more surprising was that it would be exclusively available on Nintendo Switch. The previous installments were available on all of the major platforms. In a new interview with IGN, Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime discussed the new game’s origins.
Fils-Aime cited earlier collaborations with developer Koei Tecmo on games like Hyrule Warriors and Fire Emblem Warriors. Apparently, the studio’s work on those games encouraged Nintendo to give them the reins of the Ultimate Alliance series. “What happens in the world of development is you have companies who have positive experiences in working together, coupled with franchises being available, and the franchise owner wanting to do something with a particular franchise,” said Fils-Aime. “And in this case, those three elements came together in order to create the opportunity for that game.”
RELATED: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is Coming To Nintendo Switch in 2019
Koei Tecmo’s Team Ninja division will be taking over from Activision, the publisher and developer of the first two Ultimate Alliance games. According to Fils-Aime, “They’ve got a lot of skills, and it really helped paint a picture of what that game is going to be. We’re tremendously excited about it.”
But don’t expect the older games to be remastered for the Switch anytime soon. “I really can’t comment on that,” said Fils-Aime. “That’s not been an area of focus for us. What we want to do is we want to make this game a great experience, and certainly with all of the excitement around the overall Marvel universe, we think it’s going to be a great opportunity.”
What are your thoughts on Koei Tecmo taking over the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance franchise from Activision? Give us your impressions in the comment section below!
