Invincible VS devs just made a clear promise by not promising anything: game director Dave Hall and lead combat designer Bau Bautista said they want guest characters like Spider-Man and Sub-Zero, but only “if we have that opportunity.” In the same interview, Hall said the team is “always down for a crossover,” framing guest fighters as “really exciting” while admitting there is “nothing that we can talk about right now.”

The immediate stakes are obvious for anyone tracking fighting game retention. Invincible VS is currently limited to the world of Robert Kirkman’s acclaimed Image comic. That scope can be a strength for brand fans, but it also caps variety. Hall and Bautista are basically saying they know the itch. They want to expand the roster beyond Invincible-original characters and into mainstream recognition fighters, with Spider-Man and Sub-Zero specifically named as targets.

There is also precedent that makes this more than fan service fantasy. As MMORPG points out, Spider-Man has been spotted in Invincible comics and vice versa. Invincible itself is informed by nods to characters from DC and Marvel, so crossovers like Spider-Man feel like a “full circle moment” rather than an artificial mashup. For an audience, that matters because crossover fatigue is real. The source suggests the team is treating crossovers as lore-compatible, which is the difference between “cool guest character” and “why does this character belong here?”

The devs also connected their guest-character thinking to another major franchise’s approach: Mortal Kombat. Hall and Bautista expressed enthusiasm for iconic fighters like Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Hall said, “We'd love to have Sub-Zero and Scorpion! Bring them over, that'd be great,” and Bautista added, “If we have that opportunity, we will definitely take it.” They even anchored that aspiration with a business reality fighters fans already recognize: Omni-Man was a guest fighter in Mortal Kombat 1. The point for stakeholders is that cross-franchise guest characters are not purely theoretical. There is an existing market proof that these partnerships can happen, and the audience already understands them.

Now zoom out to the product calendar. Invincible VS is focused, as you’d expect, on other characters original to the Image comic. Immortal and Universa are due to join the game June 30, when its first season begins. That matters because guest characters are the next layer of monetizable excitement, and seasons are when games typically define player expectations. A new roster drop at season start can boost return rate and social chatter, but a credible plan for future guests can extend that benefit beyond the initial wave by giving players a reason to keep checking what arrives next.

In fighting games, roster expansion is not just about aesthetics. It affects matchup knowledge, labbing behavior, community discussion, and the “I need to come back” loop. The source does not claim specific contracts, release dates, or confirmed guest characters. What it does confirm is intent and positioning. Hall said they hope they can do something “in the future,” but nothing is talkable “right now.” Bautista echoed that conditional language. For executives, that is a signal to watch the partnership pipeline rather than the headline wishlist. Guest characters are constrained by licensing, timing, and production capacity. The devs are essentially telling you they want to pursue it when the constraints line up.

For boards, investors, and operators, the second-order implication is that crossover strategy is also a negotiation strategy. If Invincible VS pursues recognizable characters, it will likely face partner scrutiny around brand fit, content tone, and usage rights. The source does not mention regulatory bodies, but the practical constraint is licensing governance, which can be as operationally heavy as any legal review. Meanwhile, the game’s anchor identity is rooted in Robert Kirkman’s Image comic world. Guest fighters, if done thoughtfully, can broaden the audience without abandoning the core audience that already cares about Invincible-style personalities.

Finally, there is competitive signaling. Fighting game ecosystems live or die by how they keep players returning for “the next thing.” By naming Spider-Man and Sub-Zero, the devs are pointing to high-recognition, high-demand roster additions that can turn a normal season update into a headline. Even with the cautious “if opportunity” caveat, the message is that Invincible VS wants to graduate from a single-universe roster to a cross-franchise stage when it is feasible. That is exactly the kind of strategic lever peers will watch when similar titles are deciding how aggressively to pursue partnerships versus staying purely within their original IP universe.