Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 DLC returns!

You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to write that headline.

Last year, Activision released a DLC pack for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 featuring five new characters — Psylocke, Carnage, Black Panther, Magneto, and Cable — and said the day that it went online (November 5) it was only going to be available until December 31. Some press outlets reported that very important detail, but for whatever reason, most did not. So when the DLC disappeared at the announced time (if not a little before, due to some PS3 hiccup), everybody accused Activision of lying, cheating, and generally being Grinchy, when it was just the end of a biz deal. Admittedly, it was lousy timing — everybody who got the game for the holidays hit the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store in January to find none of the DLC they’d heard about the month prior. It was super frustrating, made even worse when you consider the DLC came with Achievements that people couldn’t even get, and that people who had the DLC could not play with people who did not. Oof. And I’d just started the job, so it was lots of fun for me to walk into loud, angry questions about the situation, which I barely knew how to answer. I prepared ‘em for the worst: What’s done is done, and business is business. I didn’t have any reason to believe it would come back.

But it did. It’s back now, in fact. Details after the jump.

I can totally understand why people would want the DLC, if only just to do this.

But gamers weren’t just telling me they wanted the DLC back — they were telling Activision and Marvel too. And here’s proof that they both listened. There’s a post over at HeroHQ.com — which is Activision’s official forum for discussions about its Marvel games — that says the DLC is due back in a matter of days. Here are some choice quotes from admin Kalina:

We made our case (your fan support helped), begged, pleaded, cajoled and didn’t give up and were able to convince the ‘powers that be’ to bring MUA2 DLC back!! This is really happening.

In terms of timing, now that it’s been approved, we need to coordinate to get this back up on Xbox Live and PSN. As soon as I know definite timing, I will let you know.

And this is important – I want to make sure this is super clear from the beginning – all good things must come to an end and we are only allowed to have the MUA2 DLC back up through the end of 2010.  So there will be about a 6 month window to download the content again, and then it will be gone for good.  It’s not a strategy and not our choice, this is just what is allowed so I’m giving you all the advance notice I can.

Also noted in that post: There will not be a Gold Edition with the DLC baked right in to the disc. There were hopes, there were assumptions based on the fact that the original MUA had one, but not this time. I can live with that, after the drama that surrounded this whole thing. I’m just happy that the DLC will be back, and you’ll have six months to buy it, then forever to enjoy it. (Just to be safe? Don’t delay.)

UPDATE 7/1: It’s official: thee nightmare is over. From today until December 31, 2010, you can once again download the Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Character & Sim Mission Pack with its five extra characters, and you can finally earn all the Achievements/trophies that go with it. It’s $9.99 for PS3 players and 800 Microsoft Points for 360 owners. Additionally, Juggernaut is available as a separate downloadable character — he’s apparently too big to fit in the digital download wrapper with all the other guys — for $1.99 or 160 MS Points.

UPDATE 7/2: The last detail: What about DLC owners being able to play with non-DLC owners? Apparently there was a free fix for that all along, but it was removed from the online marketplaces as part of the original DLC removal. It’s back and it’s free. It’s available on PS3 under the name “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Character Compatibilty Pack“ and, confusingly, on Xbox 360 as “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Character & Sim Mission Pack Teaser.” I know — makes no sense to me either. But that is the download you need to make sure every MUA2 player can play with every other, whether they own the DLC or not. Excelsior!

UPDATE 7/2 part deux: Apparently all this good stuff is NOT on the PS3 yet — several people have reported that they can’t find it, and I can’t find it either (and I mistakenly thought that web listings were tied to their actual store, the way MS does it). I’ve got a request into the team for an ETA but with the holiday weekend, I’m guessing it might not be up until Tuesday’s PS Store update. Until then: Don’t worry, it’s not just you, and you’re not going crazy.

UPDATE 7/7: Well, Tuesday has come and gone and it wasn’t in the PlayStation Store update. You are still not going crazy. The PS3 DLC is inexplicably delayed. I don’t know exactly why. But I can confirm that it IS coming. Some folks on Activision’s support team are saying they don’t know “if or when” it will be available, but I’m digging deeper, and my sources assure me that PS3 DLC is coming back, it’s just delayed. I will stay on top of it and let you know the minute I get confirmation. Until then, all I can say is I’m sorry my hunch was wrong about Tuesday, I know this is not the straightforward happy ending you were promised, and I appreciate your patience while it gets sorted.

UPDATE 7/8: Okay, I have a fresh date for the PS3: Tuesday, July 20. This will be part of that day’s standard Store update. Sorry for the delay, PlayStation peoples, but it’s a-comin’.

UPDATE 7/20: I have checked and confirmed with Sony that the DLC should be reactivated today as part of the Store update. The Store update usually happens late in the day, afternoon/evening, and I’m writing this around 1pm, so I would not expect it for a few more hours.

UPDATE 7/22: GOOD GOD WHY WON’T IT DIE. Now it appears there’s a delay in the European PlayStation Store rollout. I thought it would be going up at roughly the same time, as most DLC seems to do. But the marketplaces are obviously independent and I do not know why it’s not there. This is a question for Sony in Europe, I’m afraid. I am still trying to find out info on this end, but with the Marvel team at the San Diego Comic-Con and it being an international question about someone else’s e-commerce site, I’m not expecting definitive news anytime soon.

UPDATE 8/15: Finally, the EU PS Store has it. We’re good. Go get it, go play it, and thank you for your patience!

UPDATE 12/28: Sony has removed the DLC from the US PlayStation Store a few days ahead of the date. (I don’t know why — that is a question for Sony, as it’s their store and the expiration date has not yet arrived.) Hope you got it. DLC for Xbox 360 is still available but, you know, if you want it, I would not put it off.