Marvel's Avengers

Marvel's Avengers launched September 4, 2020 with a well-liked campaign wrapped in a buggy, repetitive live service; Square Enix disclosed roughly $67M in HD Games operating losses driven by the game, which sold about 60% of plan against a $100M+ budget. Crystal Dynamics kept at it for two and a half years — Kate Bishop, Hawkeye, the well-received Black Panther: War for Wakanda expansion, PlayStation-exclusive Spider-Man, Jane Foster Thor, Winter Soldier — then announced the end on January 20, 2023. Final update 2.8 (March 31, 2023) made every cosmetic free and converted premium currency; support ended and the game was delisted September 30, 2023, with servers to remain online indefinitely and no refunds for past purchases.

• Two and a half years of real content: four post-launch heroes plus the substantial War for Wakanda expansion.
• The shutdown was handled transparently — eight months' notice, clear FAQ, every cosmetic made free, servers kept online.
• No refunds for past purchases, unlike Concord's full-refund precedent — buyers of the $100 editions got cosmetics, not money back.
• The promised ongoing live service ended after 30 months, and several announced heroes never materialized.