10 Year Anniversary Retrospective Blog

10 Years of MPQ

Another anniversary is quickly rolling up on us but, unlike years past, this one marks a momentous celebration as the beginning of our decade long history. This is the official 10 Year Anniversary of MARVEL Puzzle Quest!

Over the course of this long run, billions of gems have been matched while adventurous Iso Hunters defeated countless menacing bosses and built strong alliance bonds, forging lasting legacies that we are so proud to be a part of. But the momentum isn’t slowing down as we continue to release more characters like the highly requested Omega Red and push out updates that bring even more ways to enjoy MARVEL Puzzle Quest. Literally, none of this would be possible without you and your love for gem smashing over the years!

As we look forward to the exciting future of MARVEL Puzzle Quest, let’s take a look back at the years since launch for a walk down memory lane.

YEARS IN REVIEW

2013

• October 3, 2013 sees MARVEL Puzzle Quest: Dark Reign launch with an exclusive new story by renowned MARVEL authors Frank Tierni and Alex Irvine.
  • Launches with 30 new characters
  • Wolverine (X-Force) & Invisible Woman (Classic) are the first featured 4 Stars.
  • Launches to critical approval, receiving a 9.1 from IGN for, “taking the idea of a puzzle game with a strategic/role-playing element overlay, and turning it into an intricately crafted, remarkably deep experience.”

2014

• MARVEL Puzzle Quest celebrates its first anniversary!
  • Thor (Goddess of Thunder) makes her first appearance in a video game since the iconic comic book character launched.
  • Devil Dinosaur (Gigantic Reptile) makes his debut as a playable character to celebrate the anniversary, having only been spotted as an unplayable character in events prior.

2015

• The new 5 Star tier is released with a strong starting slate of Heroes.
  • Silver Surfer (Skyrider)
  • Wolverine (Old Man Logan)
  • Jean Grey (Phoenix)
• This year also marks the first official MARVEL artist tie-in with Erica Henderson crafting the art for Squirrel Girl (Unbeatable)’s event board and character icon.

2016

• Peggy Carter (Captain America) makes her worldwide debut as the first ever MARVEL Puzzle Quest original character!
  • She would go on to be featured in Marvel Comics’ Exiles #3 in 2018.
• Boss Battles undergo an evolution by featuring branching “sides” in the Civil War Boss event where players had to choose between joining Team Iron Man or Team Captain America.

2017

• MPQs first all-passive ability character launches with the release of America Chavez (Young Avengers).
• MPQs PVE events add additional twists with the launch of the Strange Sights event. Players are required to choose from multiple “paths” to complete the event but can only take one per day.

2018

• Costumes are introduced with a fun-sized first batch of various Heroes!
  • Deadpool (Lady Deadpool)
  • Luke Cage (Power Man)
  • Kamala Khan (No Normal)
  • Thor (God of Thunder)
• The highly popular “Supports” feature launches, giving players access to a whole new set of tools to enhance their gameplay.

2019

• A new design philosophy towards faster-paced characters is born alongside additional passive tile generation which spices up gameplay. Strong examples of characters with this philosophy in mind are introduced including:
  • Juggernaut (Fear Itself)
  • Beta Ray Bill (Korbinite Cyborg)

2020

• New MPQ Originals make their debut!
  • Wolverine (Samurai Daken)
  • Deadpool (Spirit of Vengeance)
• The all-powerful mutant Apocalypse (Classic) makes his debut as a playable character for the first time in MPQ after being featured in the X-Men vs. Apocalypse Boss Event.

2021

• MPQ collaborates with MARVEL’s quintessential fashion event, X-Men’s Hellfire Gala, by releasing a costume for Colossus featuring an official look from the comic book run that year.
• This year also features a tie-in with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy by adapting and releasing Gamora (Deadliest Woman), inspired by the award-winning game.

2022

• Broken Circle Studios takes over the reins of developing MARVEL Puzzle Quest!
• 505 Games acquires the Puzzle Quest portfolio with heightened aspirations for the future.
• 3 & 5 Star Releases make their return to improve the new player experience

2023

• All new Supports release with plans in place of revamping the entire system.
• The true “Fan Favorite” character Omega Red finally makes his debut!
• Champions 2.0 releases, marking a new era for power grinding and “Collection Heads” in the MPQ community.
• 10^th Anniversary Celebrations!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

MARVEL Puzzle Quest’s 10 Year Anniversary Celebrations

We knew we had to go big this year with the 10th anniversary celebrations! One month isn’t enough to truly appreciate 10 fun years of web-swinging, Hulk-smashing, and spell-weaving on the puzzle board. So we decided to launch the festivities early with our Fan Favorite celebration to honor you as the players and the entire community that MPQ has fostered over the past decade. This event saw the release of this year’s “Fan Favorite” character Silver Samurai, as well as providing easy access to some of MPQs most popular Heroes!

We also used this Fan Favorite celebration as the catalyst to release Omega Red, a character who easily held the title for “most requested” from the community. Omega Red eventually turned into an MPQ meme after years of players asking for the life-draining mercenary to make his debut. When we planned for his release, we knew we needed to make it special. We hid “Doop Speak” clues throughout the game, sparking a community wide investigation into their deeper meaning. All of this led to a surprise announcement of the highly-anticipated 3 & 5 star versions of Omega Red!

The party doesn’t stop there! We also launched a 10-week retrospective countdown that looks back over the history of MPQ by giving out free “Pick-3” login rewards featuring popular characters from each year of the game’s history. Players could take these newly recruited Heroes into the “Class of 2013-22” PVP quests and compete for progression rewards from each year while earning additional anniversary rewards by completing special event quests that ramp up to the big day!

 

Keep an eye out for more information on our Anniversary soon!