Avalanche Studios’ Canceled Iron Man Project Returns With PS3 Footage

A new Iron Man project from Avalanche Studios was quietly underway for years before being shut down, with early PlayStation 3 development footage resurfacing from an E3 2012-era build. The long-rumored Marvel tie-in never officially launched, and its existence remained secret for more than a decade—until a former studio leader finally discussed it in 2022.

Key takeaways

• Avalanche Studios was approached to develop a brand-new Iron Man game after earlier Marvel movie licensing produced disappointing results for the publisher.
• Early PS3 gameplay footage from a build intended for E3 2012 has appeared online, including sections showing flight combat and Tony Stark collecting equipment without his suit.
• The project was apparently only in alpha form at the time of the footage, with many elements still unfinished.
• The game’s existence stayed under wraps for over ten years until former studio director Christofer Sundberg spoke about it in 2022.
• A separate Iron Man title, Marvel’s Iron Man VR, did release in 2020 on PS4 before coming to Meta Quest.

Why Avalanche got involved with Iron Man in the first place

Avalanche Studios built its reputation on high-energy, stunt-driven mechanics—most notably through the Just Cause series—and later tried applying that style to a Marvel-branded project in the early 2010s. After Marvel’s movie-driven push successfully boosted the MCU on screens, the company reportedly found that game adaptations of the early Iron Man films (released in 2008 and 2010) weren’t delivering the results it wanted, pushing Marvel to seek a fresh start with Avalanche.

That decision led to a new Iron Man game entering development. However, the project was reportedly set to be canceled even before it reached an official announcement.

What the resurfaced PS3 footage shows

Recently shared images from the development phase surfaced on Reddit, including gameplay footage reportedly recorded on PlayStation 3 and designed around E3 2012. The material is split into two parts. One segment shows Iron Man flying over a desert area and taking on combat aircraft, varying in size. The other segment features Tony Stark without his armor walking through a factory or laboratory environment to retrieve gear.

While the clips provide a glimpse of how the project might have played, the footage also appears incomplete. It’s described as an alpha build, meaning many parts of the game were still unfinished and not fully representative of a finished product.

How long it stayed hidden—and what else Avalanche has lost

Despite being in development for a significant stretch of time, the Iron Man project reportedly remained secret for more than ten years. That changed in 2022 when former Avalanche studio director Christofer Sundberg publicly discussed the project, doing so with notable frustration.

The mention comes amid other setbacks for the studio. Avalanche has also reportedly had to cancel Contraband, a previously announced Xbox exclusive from 2021. The report further notes that some content connected to Contraband has unexpectedly been found inside a fishing game.

Related Iron Man release: VR instead of the canceled PS3 project

Avalanche’s unreleased Iron Man effort wasn’t the only game featuring the billionaire hero. Marvel’s Iron Man VR launched quietly on PS4 in 2020 and was later ported to Meta Quest.