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‘Spider-Man’ swings onto the PlayStation 4 at E3

By Brad Jones June 14, 2016

Last night, Sony’s E3 press conference confirmed rumors that a new Spider-Man game is in development exclusively for the PlayStation 4. The new title is being put together by Insomniac, the studio responsible for the Ratchet and Clank series and the Resistance franchise.

It might seem like high time for the web-slinger to make his return to the world of video games, now that the blockbuster Captain America: Civil War has helped start the process of returning the character to former glory. However, it has been confirmed that the new title will not have any ties to existing cinematic adaptations.

That facet of the project is made quite clear by Spider-Man’s suit, which is quite different from the versions we’ve seen on the silver screen. His trademark red-and-blue get-up is emblazoned with a large white spider in place of the standard black arachnid, immediately distinguishing this Peter Parker from the one in Marvel’s cinematic universe.

Spider Man Screenshot — Image used with permission by copyright holder

This could well be a good thing for Insomniac’s Spider-Man, as it means that the studio isn’t confined in terms of the game’s storyline or the characters that are involved. While next year’s Homecoming movie seems likely to feature the Vulture as its big bad, the game can cherry pick from the superhero’s impressive rogues gallery.

However, there’s no word on which villain (or villains) will make the cut. All that we know at the moment is that the game will cast each player as an experienced hero who has been around the block once or twice, both Spider-Man and Peter Parker are playable, and the game’s version of New York City is an open world to explore at will.

Insomniac has apparently been hard at work on Spider-Man for quite some time, but there’s still no word on a potential release date just yet.

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Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…

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Spider-Man Peter Parker and Miles Morales fighting Kraven and henchmen

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Spider-Man 2 recently appeared at the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase, so it wasn't surprising that there wasn't any new footage at the Summer Game Fest. However, Insomniac presented new concept art, including one with Peter Parker and Miles Morales fighting side by side and another with the two Spider-Mans fighting Venom.

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Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has instant open-world character switching

Peter and Miles perched next to each other in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

Insomniac Games has finally confirmed whether or not players will be able to switch between the two playable versions of Spider-Man while exploring the open world of Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

Ever since it was confirmed that Peter Parker and Miles Morales would both be playable in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, the question of whether or not players would be able to switch between them at any time in the open world arose. Although Marvel's Spider-Man 2's gameplay debut at the PlayStation Showcase didn't confirm whether or not that was the case, Creative Director Bryan Intihar revealed the answer in an interview with Eurogamer: yes, you can.
"We have content designed around Peter, we have content designed around Miles, and we have content where you can play either. You'll be able to -- in the open world -- freely switch between them with a simple button press," Intihar confirmed. Insomniac Games also confirmed to Eurogamer that Peter and Miles will each have their own skill tree, although they will also share a third. For the most part, it looks like players will have a lot of freedom about how and with whom they want to tackle any sort of open-world objectives or sidequests.
Things will get a little more restrictive during more linear story missions, like the one we saw during the PlayStation Showcase, though. "When you're playing the main story, we control when you switch between Pete and Miles ... it's done in service to the story when we're making those switches, for sure," Intihar told Eurogamer. "So, as you saw on that gameplay reveal, which is a segment of the main story, we are predetermining those based on what we want to do for how the story plays out."
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will be released exclusively for PlayStation 5 sometime this fall.