Marvel fans are going to have a crazy year with the release of Avengers: Doomsday happening towards the end of 2026. At the same time, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe is set to explode, new Marvel video games are on the way. One major group that is going to be featured in many of the upcoming releases across different mediums is the X-Men. After having been in exile for so long, due to a lot of things happening with Disney over the years, the mutants are primed to make a massive comeback for audiences who love Marvel Comics.

But before Avengers: Doomsday brings in the X-Men characters that people love to the big screen, there are multiple classic games everyone should revisit while there's still time. For decades, the X-Men were a popular team that had various games released across different consoles, each with their own spin on the characters and X-Men stories from the comics. Here's why you'll want to play these 4 classic X-Men games before Avengers: Doomsday finally arrives in theaters in 2026.

X-Men Legends

A full class of mutants

Before gamers got to put together a team of heroes from throughout the Marvel Universe in Marvel Ultimate Alliance, the game that did it first was X-Men Legends. Developed by Raven Software and published by Activision in 2005, X-Men Legends is one of the more beloved games based on the uncanny mutants. The story of the game involves Magneto trying to execute a plan to cover the world in darkness using Asteroid M, which he needs a young mutant who can control volcanic activity to do so.

Gameplay in X-Men Legends plays very similar to Marvel Ultimate Alliance, with a team of four characters battling enemies on various maps. Defeating enemies can yield experience points to level up and open up new powers. Cooperative play allowed multiple players to take control of different X-Men characters and team up in the main story. Many locations that are part of the X-Men comics are featured in the game, including the X-Mansion acting as a hub area in-between missions. A sequel to the game, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocolypse, was released in 2005 for multiple platforms.

X-Men (Arcade)

Bringing mutant beat downs

A classic side-scrolling brawler released in 1992 was the X-Men arcade game. Based on the Uncanny X-Men version of the team from the comics and the 1989 animated series, the game is a simple coin-operated brawler. It can be played with up to a full team of six players, allowing everyone to take control of their own X-Men hero. The story of the game was pretty straightforward, with Magneto and a collection of other mutants causing havoc, and the X-Men need to stop them.

The game became so popular among arcade players, it led to cabinets having a lot of activity throughout the early 90s. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be until 2010 when the game was ported to PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. It was later removed from digital stores in 2013 for unknown reasons. However, Arcade1Up would release a version of the arcade cabinet for fans to purchase that featured the game, bundled along with Captain America and The Avengers, as well as Avengers in Galactic Storm.

X-Men vs. Street Fighter

The clashing with Capcom

The year of 1996 was a great beginning for fighting game fans. Not only were there multiple Capcom fighting games dominating the arcade scene, but the start of the Marvel vs Capcom series was initiated with the release of X-Men vs. Street Fighter. The game is the third title to feature Marvel Comics characters in a fighting game developed by Capcom, but the first to cross over Marvel and Capcom fighters together in a major way, specifically X-Men and Street Fighter II characters. The first Capcom exclusive character to appear in a Marvel game like this was Akuma, appearing in X-Men: Children of the Atom for arcades.

X-Men vs. Street Fighter not only has faster and bigger action than previous Marvel fighting games, it was more exciting to watch from the side of an arcade cabinet. The special moves and effects during matches were flashy, which drew a lot of attention from everyone. Games are played with two teams of two characters squaring off, with each one being able to tag in with their own health bar. Combining attacks and timing when to tag in allies is a big part of the game, as is the Variable Combination attacks, where both characters can do super attacks together. The game was a lot of fun and special enough to kickstart what would be a new ongoing series for Capcom in collaboration with Marvel, leading to some of the biggest fighting game releases of all-time.

X-Men 2: Clone Wars

Fighting clones on Earth

There have been a number of X-Men related games released for the Sega Genesis. The first game to don the title X-Men was an interesting action-platformer that featured a number of characters from the comics and animated series as both playable and support characters. But it was the 1995 sequel to that game on the Genesis that got more attention, and was praised a lot more for how much fun it was to play. X-Men 2: Clone Wars was developed by Headgames, and played very differently than its predecessor in a lot of ways.

The story of the game is based on an arc pulled directly from the comics that were running in the early 90s. The Phalanx arrives on Earth and tries to assimilate all life by utilizing a virus and cloning everyone. The X-Men have to work together with Magneto to destroy the Phalanx and the cloning facilities before its plan can be executed to wipe out humanity.

Gameplay is like most other action games, where players can take control of one of six X-Men, and fight their way through stages. Each character has their own unique mutant powers that can be made stronger when collecting enough health within a stage. Mutant attacks can deal more damage and change their appearance when doing this, allowing for a decent amount of variety between characters. X-Men 2: Clone Wars not only looked great, but also had a great soundtrack that took advantage of the Sega Genesis audio and gritty sound, allowing for an experience that was unique among other X-Men games of the era.

The mutants are dropping into 2026

The X-Men are about to make a massive comeback in 2026, as Marvel begins to open the floodgates for new projects to release. Avengers: Doomsday will bring the original X-Men characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while gamers will see the release of highly anticipated titles like Insomniac's upcoming Wolverine game. It's going to be a very exciting year for Marvel fans who have wanted to see the X-Men come back in a major way.