Crystal Dynamic’sMarvel’s Avengershas hardly set the world on fire. Instead, it received a generally lukewarm reception at release and struggled to retain players since. Even the addition of new content, like the freeWar for WakandaDLCin August, wasn’t enough to entirely turn things around.

However,Marvel’s Avengersis finally starting to draw a crowd. In fact, it’s gone from a mediocre reception to an overnight sensation. It seems the game’s recent arrival on Xbox Game Pass has turned a middlingly popular game into a massive hit.

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It’s hard to overstate how much of a turnaround this has been, despite someMarvel’s Avengersplayers encountering problems on Game Pass. As Twitter user Benji-Sales pointed out,Marvel’s Avengershas already found a place in Game Pass’ Most Popular list. It comes in right behindDestiny 2and is within sight of Mojang’s titanically popularMinecraft. It’s also become one of the most popular Xbox games in the United States, putting it in the same ballpark asFortnite,Call of Duty: Warzone, andRed Dead Redemption 2. Moreover, Marvel’s Avengers is seeing a similar level of success in the United Kingdom. That’s an impressive feat considering gamers’ general lack of enthusiasm forMarvel’s Avengersup until recently.

This was hardly an unforeseen outcome. Some observerspredicted thatMarvel’s Avengerswould benefit greatly, at least in the short-term, from its presence on Xbox Game Pass. Many other titles have followed a similar trajectory after joining Game Pass. The Xbox service is also much more popular than its PlayStation equivalent, on whichMarvel’s Avengerswas already available. The question now is whether Crystal Dynamics can turn its game’s sudden popularity into long-term success. It will all depend on how the studio continues to tweak and expand the game now that more eyes are on it.

And there’s still plenty of tweaking for Crystal Dynamics to do. Pure Xbox describedMarvel’s Avengersas “a ton of fun if somewhat disposable,” which seems to be the general perception of the game. Other reviewers criticized its live-service elements, despitea positive attitude towardsMarvel’s Avengers’story and gameplay. The game also took heat for its loot system and repetitive endgame content. Not to mention it had some not inconsequential technical issues at launch.

However, those are all fixable problems, and the developers already addressed some of them. The game’s above-mentionedWar for WakandaDLC was probably a step in the right direction. It added a significant amount of new content and was completely free forMarvel’s Avengersplayers. Crystal Dynamics also put out a recent and well-received next-gen update for the game on Xbox Series X. If this trend counties, the studio may well have a genuine hit on its hands.

Marvel’s Avengersis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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