is a series of crossover fighting games developed and published by Capcom, featuring characters from their video game franchises and comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series originated as coin-operated arcade games; later releases were specifically developed for home consoles, handhelds, and personal computers.
Its gameplay borrows heavily from Capcom's previous Marvel-licensed fighting games X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes; however, instead of focusing on single combat, the games incorporated tag team battles. Players form teams of two or three characters and, controlling one fighter at a time, attempt to damage and knock out their opponents. Players can switch out their characters during the match, allowing team members to replenish their health and prolong their ability to fight. The series' gameplay is distinguished from other fighting game franchises due to its character assist mechanics and emphasis on aerial combat.
The Marvel vs. Capcom series has received generally positive reviews from critics, who have praised its fast-paced gameplay, vibrant visuals, and wealth of playable characters. The series has enjoyed broad appeal, selling approximately 13 million units as of 2025.
Games
Main games X-Men vs. Street Fighter was initially released as an arcade game in 1996. The game was later ported to the Sega Saturn in 1997 and PlayStation in 1998. It established the series' basic gameplay conventions by combining Street Fighter-style combat with tag team features. X-Men vs. Street Fighter also borrowed gameplay concepts from Capcom's previous Marvel Comics-licensed fighting games, X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes. Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter was released in arcades in 1997. It was then ported to the Sega Saturn in 1998 and PlayStation in 1999. The game expanded the playable roster to the larger Marvel Universe, introducing characters such as Captain America, Hulk, and Spider-Man. It was also responsible for introducing character assist moves to the franchise, a gameplay element which would influence future Marvel vs. Capcom installments. Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes debuted in arcades in 1998. Ports to the Dreamcast and PlayStation soon followed in 1999. Rather than strictly using Street Fighter characters, the game included characters from other Capcom video game franchises, such as Mega Man, Morrigan, and Strider Hiryu. It removed the character assist feature used in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and implemented its own system, which randomly allocated guest characters to each player. Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes was released in arcades in 2000 and ported to the Dreamcast within the same year. The game received ports to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2002. It was then re-released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 through the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, respectively, in 2009. Lastly, a version for iOS devices was released in 2012. Featuring a large playable roster, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 reused the assist features from Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and changed the series' two-on-two battle system to three-on-three fights. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2011. The series' traditional sprites transitioned into 3D character models while retaining the 2D-style combat. The game includes various gameplay features designed to make it more accessible to newer players, such as the additions of a comeback mechanic and a simplified control scheme. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, a standalone updated edition of the original Marvel vs. Capcom 3, was released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox 360 in 2011. The game was also released for the PlayStation 4 via the PlayStation Network in 2016; releases for the Xbox One via the Xbox Live Arcade and Microsoft Windows via Steam followed in 2017. It features new characters, stages, modes, and other enhancements to improve game balance and online functionality. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite was released in 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. It features two-on-two battles, similar to earlier Marvel vs. Capcom games, and removes traditional assist moves in favor of its own dual-character combo system. The game also implements a gameplay mechanic involving the Infinity Stones, which grants players unique abilities and upgrades depending on the stone selected. It is the first game to feature a cinematic story mode. Compilations Marvel vs. Capcom Origins, a compilation game which includes Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 through the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, respectively, in 2012. It features high-definition visuals, online multiplayer, dynamic challenges, and unlockables. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a compilation comprising all seven Capcom-developed Marvel games originally released for arcades: The Punisher, X-Men: Children of the Atom, Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes. It was released in 2024 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows and in 2025 for Xbox One.
Related media In 2011, a series of Minimates based on the playable characters from Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds were released by Art Asylum.
Udon Entertainment published Marvel vs. Capcom: Official Complete Works art book consisting of promotional artwork, sketches and bonus material from the video game collaborations between Marvel and Capcom, beginning with the 1993 arcade game The Punisher to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. It contains contributions from a variety of artists and illustrators, including Akiman, Bengus, Shinkiro, Joe Madureira, Adi Granov, Joe Ng, Long Vo, Chamba, Adam Warren and Takeshi Miyazawa. Official Complete Works made its international debut at San Diego Comic-Con on July 11, 2012, in an exclusive hardcover edition. The hardcover also featured a wrap-around cover designed by Udon Entertainment and Capcom artist Alvin Lee, and digitally-painted by Udon's Genzoman. A standard-format softcover was released in November 2012 by Diamond Comics. An expanded edition, titled Marvel vs. Capcom: Ultimate Complete Works, was released in 2025.
Within the Marvel Comics multiverse, the Marvel vs. Capcom universe is designated as Earth-30847. The series' iteration of Spider-Man appears in the crossover event Spider-Verse (2014–15), where he is defeated by Morlun as he hunts Spider-Totems across different worlds. In 2017, Marvel Entertainment had released a comic book prequel to Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite known as Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Horizons, that features Ryu and the Hulk fighting against the creatures from Capcom's Monster Hunter franchise.
Gameplay
The basic gameplay of the Marvel vs. Capcom series was originally derived from X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes. Players compete in battle using characters with unique moves and special attacks. Using a combination of joystick movements and button presses, players must execute various moves to damage their opponent and deplete their life gauge, or alternatively, have the most cumulative health when the timer runs out. However, unlike the two aforementioned games, which focus on single combat, the Marvel vs. Capcom series revolve around tag team-based combat. Instead of choosing a single character, players select multiple characters to form teams of two or three. Each character on the team is given their own life gauge. Players control one character at a time, while the others await off-screen. Players are also free to swap between their characters at any point during the match. As characters take damage, portions of their life gauge will turn red, known as "red health", which represents the amount of health that a character can recover if the player tags them out. The off-screen, dormant characters will slowly replenish their red health, allowing players to cycle through their team members and prolong their ability to fight. Furthermore, as characters deal and receive damage, a colored meter at the bottom of the screen known as the "Hyper Combo Gauge" will gradually fill. By expending meter from their Hyper Combo Gauge, players can perform "Hyper Combos" – powerful, cinematic attacks that deal heavy damage to the opponent – in addition to several other special techniques. If one character loses all of their health, they are knocked out and the next available fighter will automatically come into play.
Each successive Marvel vs. Capcom installment has added, removed, or altered gameplay elements over the course of the series' history. X-Men vs. Street Fighter added two-on-two tag team features. Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter introduced the concept of the "assist" by allowing the player to summon their off-screen partner to perform a special move without switching characters. This feature was replaced in Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, which instead randomly allocated an unplayable guest character with a preset assist move before each match; in addition, assists were limited to only a few uses per round. The assist features from Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter were re-incorporated into the following sequel, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, once again granting players the ability to call in their off-screen characters at any time during the match without constraint. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 also increased the number of characters per team by one, providing a three-on-three battle format. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds introduced "X-Factor", a comeback mechanic which offers increased damage, speed, and red health regeneration for a limited time upon activation. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite reverts to two-on-two partner battles and removes traditional character assists, in favour of a free-form tag system where the second character switches in at any point, irrespective of whether the player is mid-combo or in air. Infinite also implements the Infinity Stones as a gameplay mechanic, where each of the six stones grants unique abilities and enhancements to the player.
Another gameplay element that helps to distinguish the Marvel vs. Capcom series from other fighting game franchises is its emphasis on aerial combat. Every character in the Marvel vs. Capcom series is given a "Launcher" move, which sends the opponent flying up into the air. The player can then choose to follow up immediately by using a "Super Jump", which allows a character to jump much higher than normal, in order to continue their combo; these airborne combos are called "Air Combos" or "Aerial Raves". Marvel vs. Capcom 3 introduced a gameplay feature known as the "Team Aerial Combo" or "Aerial Exchange", giving players the opportunity to extend their Air Combos further by quickly tagging in their other characters while mid-air.