Crystal Dynamics' upcoming Avengers game will feature "social", "shared" online play, and will - at least in combat sections - resemble a "3rd person cover based action adventure game".

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Back in January, Marvel announced that it was entering into a multi-year, multi-game partnership with Square Enix - the first product of which was announced as an upcoming Avengers game ; very few details were announced at the time and the game has remained quietly in development ever since, but now it seems that we might have our first idea of the direction in which the game is headed.Thanks to NeoGAF user Nirolak , we have a couple of job postings from Square-Enix subsidiary Crystal Dynamics for the upcoming game, which is currently referred to as "The Avengers Project".One posting asks for applicants for a "Lead Level Designer" position, focusing on level development. The posting specifically refers to "fun and unique online experiences" and also asks for an understanding of "the social implicatons of shared gameplay", as well as referencing "various game modes and campaigns".The other posting is looking for an experienced Combat Designer, who will work with the rest of the team to "plan, prototype and build combat systems that directly apply to a 3rd person cover based action adventure game."Looking at these two postings together, we can start to get an idea of the sort of game that's in development. It certainly seems as though the game will be online, perhaps hinting at an MMO, particularly considering the emphasis in the job description of shared gameplay and a variety of modes and campaigns; could we be seeing a variation of Destiny's fireteam-style setup, but with superheroes rather than Guardians?How this will mesh with the larger-than-life superheroics of the Avengers - particularly the more epic characters such as Thor or the Hulk - is already a topic of hot discussion on the NeoGAF thread.It's possible, of course, that these job postings are for different aspects of the game; Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider proved able to forge a successful story mode alongside a stand-alone multiplayer experience , and perhaps that's the direction the studio is leaning. With no further details, it's all speculation for now; the requirement for the Combat Designer to "plan [and] build" combat systems implies that the game is still a way off complete.No release date or platform has been announced, but "The Avengers Project", whatever it becomes, is expected to arrive sometime in 2018.

Matt Davidson is a freelance writer for IGN who has high hopes for this game, whatever it ends up being. Give him a follow over on Twitter