EA's Iron Man Game Finally Speaks After a Trailer Leak: Well, That Didn't Go as Planned

Four years is a long time to say nothing. EA and Motive Studio announced their Iron Man game back in 2022, put out a title card, and then went completely quiet. The project's official X account was created in June 2023 and never posted once. So when a two and a half minute test trailer, watermarked AUG26 TEST, escaped onto forums and social media on August 28, it did more than show the game exists. It forced the team to finally speak.

The account's first ever post is a small masterpiece of damage control. "Well, that didn't go as planned. But now you know, and we've got a lot more to show you. See you when we're ready." Marvel Games VP Bill Rosemann reposted it, which settles any doubt about whether the footage is genuine. Within an hour the post had racked up hundreds of thousands of views.

What the leaked footage actually shows

The trailer is clearly an internal cut, with placeholder assets and unfinished cutscenes, apparently assembled this month for internal viewing or focus testing. But the bones of the game are visible, and they look promising. Tony Stark suits up in the classic red and gold armor, rockets through a large city on jet boots, and fights in mid air with repulsor rays, missiles and spinning laser attacks. One sequence has him catching missiles and hurling them back. Another shows a fight involving mechs and what looks like a helicarrier.

There are story glimpses too. Pepper Potts and James Rhodes both appear, alternate armor variants sit on mannequins in what looks like a customization space, and a villain resembling a redesigned Iron Monger shows up. Tony himself comes across snarky and clearly inspired by his film incarnation. Several observers noted the flight feels like a descendant of Anthem's jet boot traversal, which happens to be the one thing almost everyone agreed that game got right. A release window section appeared in the footage, but with no actual date behind it, and EA has not confirmed platforms.

Our take

Leaks like this usually get a legal notice, not a wink. The playful response suggests Motive is far enough along to feel confident in what people saw, and the timing gives EA, now a private company after the 55 billion dollar buyout that closed in August, an obvious opening to re-reveal the game properly, perhaps at The Game Awards in December. Superhero games have been on a good run lately, with Marvel's Wolverine landing on PS5 in September, and a proper single character Iron Man game has been missing for a generation. If the wait feels long, the armored Avenger is at least easy to find in Marvel Contest of Champions, where our Marvel Contest of Champions codes page can save you a few crystals. For the real thing, we will see them when they are ready.