Insomniac's Wolverine kicks off a new Marvel Gaming Universe
The Marvel Gaming Universe is finally here, as Insomniac Games is set to become a comic book powerhouse for Sony. The Ratchet & Clank developer found a whole new fanbase with Marvel's Spider-Man in 2018, continued that success with 2020's Miles Morales, and hit it big again with Spider-Man 2 in 2023.
It already looks like there are plans for Spider-Man 3 to round off the trilogy, but let's not forget Insomniac is also working on a Wolverine game for the fan-favourite member of the X-Men. We were hyped for the potential of a shared universe, and now, it's confirmed as gospel.
Wolverine takes place in the same universe as Spider-Man
Although there's been little to go on about Wolverine since it was announced in September 2021, we're expecting a very different kind of game from the Spider-Man series. As well as new mechanics other than zipping across the NYC skyline, Wolverine is also targeting an M for Mature rating - hopefully giving us a more brutal outing.
Spider-Man and Wolverine will take place in the same universe, as Creative Director Bryan Intihar explained to Kinda Funny, "They're all 1048. I think I got that right." It gets a little complicated, but think how the main Marvel Cinematic Universe is designated as Earth-616, and Miles Morale's Spider-Verse movie universe is Earth-1610.
We already knew that Insomniac's Spider-Man had its own universe, with Peter Parker and his suit appearing in Across the Spider-Verse. Back in 2018's Spider-Man, there were references to Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and Daredevil, sparking hopes we'd see more games from the Marvel Gaming Universe.
Why wasn't Wolverine in Spider-Man 2?
Click to enlargeAsking the obvious question of why Logan didn't appear in Spider-Man 2 and why there wasn't even so much as a wink to the clawed Canadian, Intihar continued, "There was a decision not to do it. I think for us, we wanted to let that team cook, and who knows what the future holds, but right now let's let them do their thing."
There was something of a reference to Wolverine in Spider-Man 2, with a familiar-looking Wolverine suit honouring his spandex looks from the comics and X-Men: The Animated Series. Excitingly, it sounds like we're at the start of an expanded gaming universe for PlayStation.
If Wolverine wasn't enough, what about a Fantastic Four game? If you're looking closely at Spider-Man 2, you'll be able to find the Baxter Building, with the FF logo on the roof. If Insomniac is making Wolverine canon with Spider-Man, we're one step closer to getting a gritty Daredevil game from the studio.
