{"id":1025389,"date":"2026-01-13T22:30:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T22:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=474516"},"modified":"2026-01-13T22:30:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T22:30:27","slug":"the-modders-trying-to-turn-marvel-vs-capcom-infinite-into-something-beautiful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/the-modders-trying-to-turn-marvel-vs-capcom-infinite-into-something-beautiful\/","title":{"rendered":"The modders trying to turn Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite into something beautiful"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For more than 25 years, the heroes and villains of the Marvel universe have been trading blows with Capcom\u2019s iconic characters from Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and Mega Man. But we haven\u2019t seen a new entry in the crossover fighting game franchise since 2017, when Capcom released the divisive Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

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This week on Polygon, we\u2019re exploring how superheroes are dominating not just comics and movies, but all media, in a special issue called Superculture<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Infinite<\/em> was derided for its roster choices \u2014 which at the time reeked of Marvel corporate interference<\/a> \u2014 and an art style that deviated from the cartoon and comic book-inspired look of games past. But Infinite<\/em> is also beloved by many longtime Marvel vs. Capcom fans for its gameplay innovations.<\/p>\n

Now, one of Infinite<\/em>\u2019s biggest boosters is trying to fix the most glaring issue with the game, thanks to an in-depth mod that restores the visual punch of older Marvel vs. Capcom games. That project is known as Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite & Beyond<\/em>, led by a prominent figure in the fighting game community: Maximillian Christiansen, the streamer known as Maximilian Dood<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With the help of a group of artists and game modders, Christiansen has a simple goal for Infinite & Beyond<\/em>: \u201cMy hope for the project overall is just to release a game that looks good,\u201d he told me in an interview.<\/p>\n

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Christiansen has been a fan of both Marvel Comics and Capcom\u2019s fighting games for decades. He grew up on Jim Lee\u2019s X-Men books and Marvel\u2019s early \u201990s trading cards, and got into fighting games with Street Fighter 2<\/em><\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think my fandom really kicked up with X-Men vs. Street Fighter<\/em>,\u201d he said. \u201cIt really peaked with Marvel vs. Capcom 1<\/em>; I actually grew a community in the arcade of like-minded people, folks like myself that just love that game. We\u2019d meet up in the same spot every weekend, really every single opportunity to go practice and train. I learned how to use an arcade stick in that time period. That\u2019s the game that got me introduced to what the fighting game community is, and it\u2019s sort of my entry into the big arcade culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many years later, 2011\u2019s Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds<\/em> marked a key turning point for Christiansen. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have a big attachment to Marvel vs. Capcom 3<\/em>, because it was one of the starting moments of my content-creation career,\u201d Christiansen said. \u201cI created this show called Assist Me!<\/em>, which was all about teaching people how to use characters, with costumed characters showing up, doing goofy stuff.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Marvel 3<\/em>, I got super into it. I was going to competitive events every week until the show took over my life. Then we got hired by Capcom to make an official show for the expansion, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite<\/em> was first shown<\/a> some years later, Christiansen said, there was an \u201cuneasiness<\/a>\u201d around the game. Many Marvel characters important to the legacy of Marvel vs. Capcom were missing, and while the gameplay was fun, he said, \u201cclearly from a surface level, it was not lining up to be something to be on the same level as other Marvel vs. Capcom games. […] The biggest perpetrator [was] the visuals \u2014 the game just does not look visually appealing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was kind of going for this weird awkward-realism-anime thing,\u201d he said. \u201cAnother game similar to that comes out a year later called Jump Force<\/em>, and it does the same thing, where it tries to mesh a realistic-looking superhero anime look and it just does not look good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interest in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite<\/em> quickly faded. The game did not hit Capcom\u2019s sales targets, and many MvC fans retreated to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3<\/em>, which was thriving on PC, thanks to mods that added more characters to the game\u2019s already sizable roster.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite<\/em> was \u201cthis game that was so close to being so good, but everybody gave up on it, including Capcom and Marvel,\u201d Christiansen said.<\/p>\n

In 2024, there was a breakthrough \u2014\u00a0and renewed interest in the series, thanks to the release of the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection<\/em>. An artist and modder named Ryn (aka Wistful Hopes) released an editor for the version of Unreal Engine that Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite<\/em> was built on. Ryn started to make adjustments of her own, applying a cel-shaded look to Infinite<\/em> that transformed the game\u2019s \u201cawkward-realism-anime thing\u201d aesthetic.<\/p>\n

Christiansen caught wind of the editor and knew Ryn from one of her earlier modding efforts, in which she brought Dragon Ball\u2019s Goku into the fighting game Guilty Gear Strive<\/em>. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was insanely impressive,\u201d Christiansen said of Ryn\u2019s work on reimagining the look of Infinite<\/em>. But he wanted more. \u201cSo, I was like, \u2018Can I just pay you to fulfill my wishes and dreams?\u2019\u201d In addition to Ryn, Christiansen started rallying artists and programmers who had worked on other mods and unofficial roster additions for other MvC games to further develop Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite & Beyond<\/em>. <\/p>\n

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Ryn, who said in an interview that \u201cDragon Ball is still one of the greatest influences on [her] art,\u201d didn\u2019t have the same strong affection for Marvel vs. Capcom that Christiansen did.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m relatively young and didn’t grow up playing any MvC games, so I\u2019m more so looking at the games from a retrospective lens,\u201d she told me over Discord. \u201cWith that said, Marvel vs. Capcom\u2019s bold aesthetic in its earlier games has influenced my taste in art a lot. The fusion of Western and Japanese styles is something I wish to capture myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryn added, \u201cI saw a friend talk about how [Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite<\/em>] was wasted potential, and thought it\u2019d be cool to make a tech demo mod for it. Seeing it gain the attention it did is, quite honestly, astounding to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally, updating the fighting game\u2019s visuals was the team\u2019s only goal, but the scope has expanded, Ryn said. Since the Infinite & Beyond<\/em> project started in earnest in May, more than 20 people have contributed to the mod with new art, music, and technical work. Christiansen estimates he\u2019s spent nearly $30,000 on the mod, paying artists and programmers to bend the flawed (but fun) Marvel vs. Capcom game to his will.<\/p>\n

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