By Sagar Mankar 
An Epic Wakandan Adventure!!
Electronic Arts (EA) recently unveiled plans for an ambitious open-world game starring Marvel’s Black Panther.
The project is being developed by Cliffhanger Games, a Seattle-based studio led by industry veterans from major franchises like Halo, God of War, and Call of Duty.
Recent job listings at EA have provided some tantalizing hints about the gameplay that we can expect.
What Does Recent Job Listing Say?
Based on this job listing, EA is seeking a Senior Sandbox Designer to help create a “living, breathing” open-world setting in the Black Panther game.
Some key details mention:
- Dynamic urban crowds and wildlife populating the world
- Integrating linear story missions into the open world
- Close collaboration between design, AI, and art teams to bring Wakanda to life
The goal is to craft an immersive sandbox experience that blends seamlessly with the game’s narrative.
The Sandbox experience provides players a great degree of creativity to interact with the gaming environment. Players can explore, build, destroy, and set their own objectives in the open world.
Who Is Leading the Development?
The development of the open-world Black Panther game is spearheaded by Cliffhanger Games, led by industry veteran Kevin Stephens, formerly the studio head of Monolith Productions (Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War).
Cliffhanger boasts a talented team with experience from renowned franchises like Halo, God of War, and Call of Duty, promising an unparalleled Black Panther experience.
On top of them, Connie Booth, a former PlayStation executive now at EA, oversees the entire EA-Marvel project which includes – Cliffhanger’s Black Panther game, Motive’s Iron Man title and one yet to be announced.
What Makes It Unique?
While not much gameplay has been shown yet, EA described it during its announcement (July 2023) as an “original, third-person, single-player” adventure set in the “rich superhero sandbox” of Wakanda.
This means:
- An original single-player story showing a new take on the Black Panther mythos
- Played from a third-person perspective with Black Panther as the protagonist
- Development focused on crafting an authentic representation of Wakanda’s technology, heroes, and culture
- Emergent gameplay encounters and systems that evolve and react within the open world
- Players can organically discover and trigger story moments/missions in the sandbox setting
- Expected to feature fluid traversal/movement and visceral combat befitting the superhero
As development progresses, we’ll likely learn more concrete details about combat, abilities, customization, and the overall scope of the adventure.
EA’s Marvel Deal
In October 2022, Marvel signed an agreement with FIFA and Battlefield publisher Electronic Arts (EA) to make three action-adventure video games based on the Marvel comics.
The open-world Black Panther game is the second of three games.
The first is a single-player Iron Man action-adventure title currently in development at EA’s Motive studio, led by Olivier Proulx, who previously worked on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
The third game in the deal has yet to be announced and remains shrouded in mystery.
Black Panther Coming in Different Marvel Game
This isn’t the only time we will see Black Panther in upcoming video games though.
Recently announced, Amy Hennig’s Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra from Skydance New Media, set to release in 2025, also features the Wakandan King alongside Captain America in a different story.
Release Date?
No release window or platforms have been announced for the Black Panther title yet.
But with EA working on two other Marvel games (unannounced+Iron Man), we could see an ambitious connected universe taking shape.
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