Recently spotted job listings at EA’s Motive and Cliffhanger Games studios have given away that both the publisher’s upcoming Iron Man and Black Panther games will feature open world environments.
Very little has been shared on either project since their announcements though Motive did recently say development on its Iron Man game is going smoothly amid news of the studio forming a team to work on the Battlefield series. In lieu of any trailers or formal updates from EA, these two job listings have given us the next best thing by confirming open world settings for both games.
A listing for a senior technical artist position at Motive is labelled specifically for the Iron Man game, and says the successful candidate will “help oversee the rendering related aspects of an open world action adventure AAA title.” Meanwhile, Cliffhanger Games is looking for a principal sandbox designer who will be “instrumental in designing and populating encounters, systems, and gameplay within a dynamic and evolving open world.” This listing doesn’t say the job is specifically for the Black Panther game, but that’s the only project Cliffhanger is publicly working on.
Although there’s no hard confirmation, it’s very safe to assume the Black Panther game will be set in Wakanda, the fictional country that Black Panther calls home. Cliffhanger’s job listing also mentions working with the AI engineering team to “create sophisticated AI behaviors that enhance the open-world experience, from urban crowds to wildlife ecosystems.” This suggests players will get to explore not just Wakanda’s city and villages, but also the jungle surrounding it. It’s much harder guessing where the Iron Man game will take place, but the prospect of flying around a populated city in the Iron Man armor is an exciting one nonetheless.
There’s no telling when EA will show off either game, though. While Motive has commented on how well the Iron Man game is progressing, Cliffhanger hasn’t confirmed any tangible details about the Black Panther game. Both projects are presumably in good hands, given the studios’ track records. Motive received a lot of praise for its work on the Dead Space remake, and though the Black Panther project is Cliffhanger’s first game, the studio is comprised of industry veterans who have worked on the likes of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and God of War (via GamesIndustry.biz).
It’s an awkward time for both projects, however, since EA CEO Andrew Wilson, whilst confirming job losses within the company, admitted a couple of months ago that the company would be “moving away from development of future licensed IP,” suggesting EA’s lost interest in releasing games based on other companies’ franchises. There’s nothing to indicate this has affected EA’s deal with Marvel though. Aside from the Iron Man and Black Panther games, there’s supposed to be one other Marvel game in the works at EA, according to the original announcement about the two companies’ partnership.
