'Marvel vs. Capcom 4' latest updates, rumors: Will the crossover fighting game be released in 2017?

The highly anticipated crossover fighting video game "Marvel vs. Capcom 4" could be announced this coming weekend and possibly released in 2017.

According to Polygon, multiple sources have revealed that the fourth installment of the crossover fighting game franchise is presently in development and is planned to be released sometime in 2017. It is even speculated that the game will be announced this coming weekend at the PlayStation Experience 2016 in Anaheim, California, where the Capcom Cup 2016 "Street Fighter 5" tournament will take place.

In the same report, fans are told to expect the Marvel characters in the upcoming "Marvel vs. Capcom 4" to mostly be drawn from the current cinematic universe that Marvel Studios has popularized in the past decade. This means the fighting game may be including characters straight from superhero films such as "The Avengers" and "Guardians of the Galaxy." However, this also means the non-participation of mutant superheroes from X-Men.

As reported by Paste, the absence of any X-Men character in the forthcoming game could be a good thing for the game series and for the fans of Marvel Comics. Although the absence of mutant superheroes like Wolverine from the fourth "Marvel vs. Capcom" crossover fighting game may be unusual and a departure from tradition, it will be another sign that X-men's cultural imperialism over the Marvel Universe has truly come to an end.

It can be recalled that the previous game in the franchise, "Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds," rolled out early 2011 for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. The follow-up, "Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3," was launched in November of the same year. Both games contained the usual X-Men mutants such as Wolverine, Magneto, Storm, and Phoenix as playable characters.

On whether the rumors are indeed true or not, a Capcom spokesperson has told Polygon thru email that "Capcom does not comment on rumors or speculation."