Announced back in 2021, Marvel’s Wolverine is currently in development at Insomniac Games. Though we don’t yet know when the game will be released, we do know that the game will be a PS5 exclusive, at least initially.
Insomniac Games have an impressive record when it comes to crafting superhero titles. In fact, entries in the Marvel’s Spider-Man series sit proudly on our lists of the best superhero games and the best PS5 games. Plus, with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 just around the corner, it seems unlikely that Insomniac will stop crafting impressive Marvel titles anytime soon.
However, with Marvel’s Wolverine, the studio intends to take a more adult tone. Though there aren’t many concrete details available yet, Insomniac made a commitment on the PlayStation blog to “respect the DNA of what makes the character so popular” while looking “for opportunities to make it feel fresh and truly reflect the Insomniac spirit”. With that in mind, read on to find out everything we know about the upcoming game.
Marvel’s Wolverine: cut to the chase
What is it? A Wolverine game from the makers of Marvel’s Spider-ManWhen does it come out? TBCWhat can I play it on? PS5
Marvel’s Wolverine release date rumors and platforms
(Image credit: Insomniac)
Marvel’s Wolverine does not currently have a release date on PS5. Given that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is set to release on October 20 this year, we wouldn’t expect to hear details about a potential Wolverine release date until late 2024 at the very earliest.
Marvel’s Wolverine is set to be a PS5 console exclusive, much like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, so it won’t be available to Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S. This shouldn’t be too surprising, given how Sony acquired Insomniac Games back in 2019. It’s also skipping last-gen consoles, so PS4 owners are also out of luck.
However, there’s a good chance it’ll arrive on PC, since Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales both released on the platform, albeit well after their initial launches on Sony’s home consoles.
Marvel’s Wolverine trailer
Marvel’s Wolverine was announced during Sony’s PlayStation Showcase in September 2021, with a brief teaser trailer giving us our first look at Insomniac’s take on Logan.
The teaser trailer shows a destroyed bar, with injured men lying on the floor, before cutting to a back view of a man in a cowboy hat and checkered shirt drinking at the bar – his knuckles and surrounding area covered in blood. In the background, we see one of the injured men getting up and pulling out a knife. Sensing the assailant, the man at the bar, the man at the bar clenches his fist, showing off the classic metallic claws.
The trailer may not give us a look at gameplay or at Logan himself, but it does set the tone of Marvel’s Wolverine – which at first glance appears to be a more bloody, mature alternative to Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man series. You can check out the trailer below:
So far, the reveal trailer is the only preview we currently have access to. In the meantime, we recommend keeping your eyes on PlayStation’s official YouTube channel for any future updates.
Marvel’s Wolverine story and setting
(Image credit: Sony)
Though we don’t yet have any concrete details as to what to expect from Marvel’s Wolverine, the reveal trailer does offer several Easter eggs which offer some interesting hits.
Firstly, the trailer’s setting seems to drop a big clue about when and where Marvel’s Wolverine is set. Logan is drinking in the Princess Bar, located in Madripoor (which you may recognize from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), which we see from the bar sign and the Madripoor tourist poster.
In Marvel Comics Presents Volume 1 #1 (1988), Wolverine visits the Princess Bar while hunting down a crime lord called Roche. After wiping the bar floor with Roche’s enforcers – who are trying to get protection money off the bar’s owner O’Donnell – Wolverine becomes a regular of the bar, under the name “Patch”, and even co-owned it for a time. The bar was essentially Logan’s home away from home during a period when the X-Men were inactive. Is Insomniac Games hinting that this is the time period Marvel’s Wolverine is set to take place? Will we see Logan taking on the criminal underworld?
Another possible Easter Egg is the Radio Lowtown 104.8 poster. Lowtown is a district in Madipoor, so Madipoor as a setting seems pretty likely. But the 104.8 seems to reference Marvel Earth-1048, the universe in which Marvel’s Spider-Man is set. This seems to suggest that Insomniac’s Spider-Man games and Wolverine take place in the same universe, meaning we could see a Marvel game universe in the making.
But the radio station isn’t the only number that appears to reference a specific comic book. The license plate on the bar reads “HLK 181”, which seems to reference The Incredible Hulk #18 – in which Wolverine makes an appearance. Does that mean we could see Hulk in Marvel’s Wolverine? Again, we certainly hope so.
Marvel’s Wolverine news
(Image credit: Sony)
A “full-size” game with a “mature tone”
According to Marvel’s Wolverine‘s Creative Director, Brian Horton, James ‘Logan’ Howlett’s standalone adventure on PS5 will be a full-size game with a “mature tone”. Horton confirmed this in response to a fan on Twitter asking whether Wolverine on PS5 will be “big or a [smaller] ‘Miles Morales’ size game”.
Being directed by Spider-Man: Miles Morales creative leads
In a PlayStation Blog post, Insomniac Games revealed that Marvel’s Wolverine is being directed by Brian Horton (creative director) and Cameron Christian (game director), who led the creative efforts on Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
Respecting the DNA, with a fresh take
Insomniac Games has said that, while it intends to honor the “DNA” of what makes Wolverine popular, it will be putting its own fresh spin on Weapon X.
“In the vein of our Spider-Man games, our goal here is to not only respect the DNA of what makes the character so popular, but also look for opportunities to make it feel fresh and truly reflect the Insomniac spirit,” Insomniac Games wrote in a PlayStation blog post. According to the developer, despite being in early development, Marvel’s Wolverine boasts an “emotional narrative and cutting-edge gameplay”.
Marvel’s Wolverine: what we want to see
(Image credit: Insomniac)
Embracing Wolverine’s dark side
While Marvel’s Spider-Man and Miles Morales are critically acclaimed, there’s no denying they’re pretty family-friendly at times. After all, Spider-Man himself is your “friendly neighborhood Spidey”. But Wolverine isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, his backstory and character are, comparatively speaking, pretty dark.
We’re hoping that Insomniac explores that side of Logan in the Wolverine game, offering a more mature experience than Spider-Man did. We’re not asking for gratuitous violence but, to really dig into Wolverine’s backstory (depending on when this game is set), you can’t shy away from the darker moments. Also, you can’t slash up enemies without a bit of bloodshed.
The appearance of other Marvel heroes…
We don’t want them hogging the spotlight, but it would be nice to see Insomniac’s take on some other Marvel heroes popping up in the Wolverine game as side characters. The specifics would really depend on the story Insomniac wants to tell, but we’re hoping to see some of the X-Men make cameos, including Jean Grey, Professor X, or maybe even Rogue.
…and infamous villains
We currently don’t know who will serve as the main adversary in Marvel’s Wolverine, but there are plenty of infamous villains to choose from – and we imagine some could appear as smaller roles. We’re hoping we could see Logan battling Sabertooth, Lady Deathstrike, or even Silver Samurai. Or perhaps we’ll see him simply battling to bring down the Weapon X program that saw him subjected to painful experiments.
A Marvel Game Universe
With Insomniac Games now working on another Marvel title for PS5, we’re hoping that we could see a Marvel Game Universe in the future.
In our opinion, it could work pretty well. Like with the MCU, Insomniac has created standalone products allowing us to get to know individual superheroes within its universe. If we continue to see more Marvel heroes getting their own games, could we potentially see crossovers in the future? We certainly hope so.
Now that you know all there is to know about Marvel’s Wolverine, be sure to check out our look at the best superhero games you can play on consoles and PC.