Sony and Insomniac Games shocked the world during the 2021 PlayStation Showcase, which featured the reveal of Marvel’s Wolverine. Fans of Insomniac superhero games have this game at the top of their most anticipated upcoming PS5 games alongside Ghost of Yotei and Marathon. However, it’s been years since that initial reveal, and we still can’t update its spot on our list of all upcoming video games. Put your claws away and we’ll run through everything we know about Marvel’s Wolverine.
While we wait for Wolverine, there are plenty of upcoming Xbox Series X games, upcoming PC games, and upcoming Switch games to play too.
Release speculation
Sadly, Marvel’s Wolverine does not have a release date just yet. As part of a PlayStation Blog post, Insomniac Head of Franchise Strategy Ryan Schneider said “Marvel’s Wolverine is very early in development.”
A massive hack of Insomniac in late 2023 did prematurely reveal a lot of details about Marvel’s Wolverine that may or may not still be true. We won’t go over any of the spoilers or specifics, but at that time Marvel’s Wolverine was scheduled to launch in 2026. Again, things may have changed from whenever that initial release window was set, but it would make sense if Insomniac had begun work on it in 2021 and then shifted full focus after finishing Spider-Man 2.
One possible wrinkle that could push the game back was the news that the game’s creative director left the studio in 2024. Now, Marcus Smith and Mike Daly, who previously helmed Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, are leading the project. While that doesn’t necessarily mean a delay, we will have to wait and see what we’re told next time we see it.
Platforms
The only platform confirmed for Marvel’s Wolverine was PS5, and based on its likely release window of 2026, it probably won’t be available for PS4. At the end of the announcement trailer, a line of text read “in development for PlayStation 5,” so that’s all we know for sure.
What we can almost certainly guarantee is that Marvel’s Wolverine will not come to Xbox Series X|S or Nintendo Switch (or even Switch 2), since Insomniac Games is a first-party Sony studio. However, PC fans should be able to count on it coming to Steam around a year after launch if the current trend continues.
Trailers
Marvel’s Wolverine stole the show during the September 2021 PlayStation presentation thanks to its teaser trailer. It depicts a trashed bar, presumably at the hands of Logan, as he sits down to enjoy a drink. This is very much in line with the version of the character from the comics, and hopefully, Insomniac has done its homework to ensure the game is authentic as possible.
What was surprising is that many viewers assumed this trailer was for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 at first, based on the logos for Marvel and Insomniac. But then the big reveal at the end shocked us all. Check it out for yourself above.
Also, shoutout to the license plate on the wall of the bar that reads “HLK 181,” which is a reference to The Incredible Hulk issue #181, the first appearance of Wolverine. This might just be a cheeky nod to the character’s rich history, but that isn’t stopping us from hoping it means something else. Could Hulk make an appearance in Marvel’s Wolverine? That would just be … incredible.
Gameplay
Since the trailer didn’t show any gameplay, we can only assume it will play similarly to Marvel’s Spider-Man. It will likely be action-oriented, with some sort of upgrade system, and possibly an open world (maybe even the same world as Marvel’s Spider-Man). But part of the appeal of the Spider-Man games is its traversal system, wherein players are able to swing freely around New York City.
Wolverine doesn’t have this ability, so it’ll be interesting to see how movement and traversal will be handled in the new game. Perhaps Wolverine will utilize his motorcycle to get around, which could be fun, albeit different than web-slinging. Unlike the Spider-Man games, Wolverine will probably not rely on gadgets to defeat enemies. He’s a much different character than Peter Parker (and Miles Morales) — a grizzled veteran who uses his own wits and claws during combat, rather than an arsenal of weapons and toys. Insomniac has certainly earned our trust after its recent releases, but it will certainly be interesting to see how the team handles this aspect of Wolverine from a gameplay perspective.
Early gameplay footage was released as part of the hack mentioned earlier, but because that was such an early build an not meant for public viewing, we won’t be discussing or considering it here.
Preorder
Until we get a firm release date for Wolverine, there won’t be any preorder options available. As soon as we have that information for you, we will update this article.
