Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is an action role-playing game developed for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox and Xbox 360 by Raven Software and published by Activision. The game was simultaneously ported to the PlayStation Portable and Wii by Vicarious Visions, and to Microsoft Windows by Beenox. A significantly different Game Boy Advance version was also created, developed by Barking Lizards Technologies. The game was initially released on October 24, 2006 in North America for most platforms, with PlayStation 3 and Wii ports following shortly thereafter, as well as international releases. Japan was only able to see a Wii and PS3 release. Marvel Ultimate Alliance is set within the fictional Marvel Universe and features many of the superheroes, supervillains, and supporting characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. Ultimate Alliance is the third Marvel title to be developed by Raven Software, and features similar gameplay to their previous Marvel titles, X-Men Legends and X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. A sequel, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, was developed for multiple platforms by Vicarious Visions, n-Space and Savage Entertainment and released in 2009.