Disney+ and Marvel Studios just renewed X-Men ’97 for a third season at New York Comic Con-before Season 2 even drops in summer 2026. That’s rare air. Season 1 wasn’t just good, it was universally loved (sitting at around 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and 82 on Metacritic), and this early renewal screams confidence. As someone who grew up pumping quarters into Konami’s X-Men arcade cab and later lost weeks to X-Men Legends and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, this matters because it signals something bigger: the mutants are back at the center of Marvel’s pop-culture push, and that usually spills directly into the games we play.
At NYCC, Marvel confirmed X-Men ’97 is locked for Season 3 even though Season 2 won’t hit until summer 2026. That’s a long wait, but it reflects how animation pipelines work-especially with the shakeups and scheduling pileups of the last couple years. Season 1 proved there’s huge appetite for a faithful, energized continuation of the ’90s classic, and the critical reception backs it up. The bottom line: Marvel sees this as a tentpole, not a nostalgia one-off.
From a gamer’s perspective, early renewals matter because they give partners confidence to greenlight projects with longer lead times. You don’t build a great ARPG or fighting game off a six-month trend; you need assurance the brand will be relevant two to three years out. This renewal provides exactly that runway.
When X-Men pop, the games follow. We’ve already seen Capcom lean into the nostalgia with the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection bringing back X-Men: Children of the Atom and more—catnip for anyone who remembers Magneto infinites. Meanwhile, Insomniac’s Wolverine is still the white whale of single-player Marvel projects; it’s not here yet, but the continued mutant momentum only raises its profile and the likelihood of marketing synergy when it finally resurfaces.
On the strategy side, Marvel’s Midnight Suns quietly became one of the best tactical RPGs in years, even if it underperformed commercially. It proved there’s a real audience for smarter, character-driven superhero games. If I’m a publisher, I’m looking at X-Men ’97’s success and asking: can we do an X-Men Legends-style co-op ARPG with modern buildcraft? Or a Midnight Suns-esque tactics game focused on the Krakoa-era roster? The IP is tailor-made for team synergies, class roles, and squad-based storytelling.
Then there’s live ops. Disney’s investment into Epic and the ongoing Fortnite collabs make another mutant-heavy season feel inevitable. Marvel Snap has basically turned “Mutant month” into a recurring event with new card pools and locations. And with Marvel Rivals gaining traction, a roster wave starring Cyclops, Storm, Rogue, and Gambit would be a layup. Expect drip-fed cosmetics, limited-time modes, and battle passes that keep X-Men in your daily rotation while we wait for Season 2.
It’s easy to assume a TV renewal equals a game announcement. It doesn’t—at least not immediately. Disney’s current games strategy is to partner with proven studios and give them space to build. That’s why we got Insomniac’s Spider-Man instead of a rushed MCU tie-in. For X-Men, that likely means:
The risk? Over-indexing on live-service. We all watched Avengers flame out. If publishers take the wrong lesson and chase endless grinds, it’ll backfire. The X-Men resonate because of characters and moral conflict. Nail that first, then layer systems on top. Midnight Suns proved it; polish and personality beat FOMO timers every time.
Three things: First, whether The Game Awards or early 2026 showcases tease mutant-heavy projects—publishers love striking while the conversation is hot. Second, how Fortnite and Marvel Snap schedule their next X-Men cycles; those beats often foreshadow bigger moves. Third, Capcom’s messaging after the MvC collection—strong sales could justify new content, and the X-Men are the heart of that legacy.
And yes, I’m crossing my fingers for an X-Men Legends spiritual successor with drop-in co-op, build-defining synergies (Storm’s tempest amplifying Magneto’s metal control? Rogue stealing boss traits mid-fight?), and big comic arcs as seasonal content instead of the usual “new colorway” treadmill. If X-Men ’97 keeps the brand burning this hot, someone’s going to take that swing.
X-Men ’97 getting a Season 3 before Season 2 hits is more than a flex—it’s a green light for longer-term game bets and steady crossover content. Expect mutants to dominate live-ops collabs now and set the stage for a proper, character-first X-Men game in the next couple of years.
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