It’s hard to think of a year that’s been better forMarvel vs. Capcomfans than 2024. For the first time ever, the entireMarvel vs. Capcomfranchise, alongside the historically relevantPunisherarcade beat them up, is available on PC and modern consoles thanks toMarvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics.Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which falls outside that collection, is still enjoying its heightened publicity after being featured as EVO 2023’s first official classic game tournament, and many of its character and gameplay mod projects are still active.
That would have been impressive already, but what clinched 2024 asMvC’s busiest year ever was none other than itsblack sheep,Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. Released for PC, PS4, and Xbox One on June 07, 2025, it suffered from intense fan backlash before and after it launched. Dreams of living up to its “Infinite” moniker through years of support died almost immediately, with monthly Steam player counts rarely passing 100 concurrent players after just five months. However, on July 29, 2025,Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinitepulled in more players than anyone could have expected, and it was all thanks to its fans.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Never Got The Chance To Shine
As evidenced by its Steam numbers,Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinitewas not a popular game, and the reasons why are numerous. Pre-release, fan outrage began with the removal ofMvC’s iconicX-MenandFantastic Fourfighters. Nowadays, people blame the incomplete Fox merger with Disney as the motive, but that knowledge came too late.MvCI’s general roster was considered inferior toMvC2andUMvC3’s, and even its returning fighters looked worse due to an art style shift and budget constraints. At least the game’s rollback netcode worked despite lacking crossplay, but that wasn’t enough to stop it from being squashed by another tag fighter,Dragon Ball FighterZ, in early 2018.
2024 Marked Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite’s Turning Point
Still, in spite of all its faults,MvCIgathered a small, but faithful community through its freeform 2v2 mechanics and stable netplay, and none were more prominent or outspoken than Maximilian Miles Christiansen. Better known as Maximilian Dood, Max took a lot of heat for supportingMvCIat launch while also offering constructive criticism, and hiscareer as a variety streamermeant that he couldn’t afford to linger on the game. However, he never forgot it, and in early 2024, a breakthrough inMvCI’s modding scene prompted Max to assemble a team of around 40 paid developers to create the free mod that would reviveMarvel Infinite.
Infinite & Beyond is Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite’s Second Chance
Eight months later, the overhaul modMarvel vs. Capcom: Infinite & Beyondlaunched on August 01, 2025, and during the following weekend, the game hit its second-highest monthly Steam peak at 1322 concurrent players.MvCIand itsDeluxe Editionbeing80% off in the Capcom Holiday Deals eventhelped, but sales alone wouldn’t have regained such a controversial title half of its all-time Steam player peak of 3603 on July 29, 2025. Even if the content changes are relatively light,Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite & Beyondis whatMvCIalways should have been.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite & Beyond’s Changes, Explained
Poor presentation was arguably the greatest sinMvCIever committed, so the majority ofBeyond’s development time was spent revising the soundtrack, menus, visuals, and even DLC, Story, and Arcade Mode-specific assets. Gameplay tweaks will mostly be appreciated by competitive players, but everyone can enjoy Thanos’ new abilities from a completed Infinity Gauntlet. The offline-only Cross Frenzy, Single Cross Frenzy, and Cross Fever modes round things out with casual-oriented fun, and Cross Fever even emulates theco-op tagging from2XKO. AsMarvel vs. Capcom: Infinite’s Steam player count remains several times higher than normal, it’s clear that Max and company’s labor of love has been worth the effort.
