Epic Games has enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Marvel over the last year and more, ever since Thanos made a splash with a big tie-in with Fortnite in honour of Avengers: Endgame.
Unsurprisingly, then, ahead of the launch of the first big AAA Avengers game since the Marvel Cinematic Universe really hit its stride, Marvel's Avengers, Fortnite's once more getting some Marvel themed goodies.
The superhero action game from Crystal Dynamics is about to hold a series of open beta events, both for those who've pre-ordered the title and for anyone else who's interested. They'll be able to play as Iron Man, Hulk, Ms. Marvel and Black Widow for a limited time.
The beta will let players sample a campaign level, play a few different War Zone missions, which are more free-form, and also give the chance to practise the combat system using a few "HARM Challenge Rooms". These are where Fortnite comes in - finish the three main challenges in this mode and you'll qualify to earn a couple of new pickaxes for the game - Hulk Smashers in two styles.
The Smashers will also be available to buy as normal later on for those who miss their chance. The open betas run for a few different periods, and will be available to download from Xbox Live and the PlayStation Store:
- August 7-9: PlayStation 4 Pre-Order Beta (Marvel Avengers PlayStation 4 pre-order players only)
- August 14-16: PlayStation 4 Open Beta
- August 14-16: Xbox One Pre-Order Beta (Marvel Avengers Xbox One pre-order players only)
- August 21-23: Open Beta on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
In other news for those looking forward to Marvel's Avengers, its devs have also dropped a new teaser trailer showcasing a planned DLC pack post-release that will add bowslinger Hawkeye to the game.
There's no word as to when the pack will release or how much it'll cost, but it's clear that Crystal Dynamics plans to support Marvel's Avengers for some time after launch on 4 September.