Is Insomniac building a shared universe on the PlayStation with Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine?

During Thursday’s PlayStation Showcase, Insomniac unveiled two new Marvel games. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, a follow-up of the previous two Spider-Man games, and a new game Marvel’s Wolverine, based on the iconic adamantium clawed mutant.

Insomniac is one of the most notable studios under the PlayStation umbrella. From Ratchet & Clank to Spider-Man, the studio has delivered some truly amazing video games to the PlayStation consoles.

After the back-to-back release of Spider-Man Miles Morales in November 2020 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart in June 2021, many fans assumed the studio would take a break for the PlayStation Showcase. But Insomniac surprised everyone with the announcement of not one but two upcoming games. Granted, both the games will take a while. Nevertheless, it’s another two reasons to be excited about the future.

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Is a shared universe on the PlayStation the future of Spider-Man, Wolverine, and other Marvel characters?

With the release of Iron Man and the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there have been multiple attempts to create a larger shared universe. Each character has their own separate story, but they unite only when different studio's needs arise. This is quite reminiscent of the story flow in the comics, from where the characters are borrowed.

In the PlayStation blog post about Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine, Ryan Schneider, the Head of Franchise Strategy & Studio Relations, Insomniac Games, mentioned:

"Being able to build a new, original universe with Spider-Man and now Wolverine is such an honor for so many of us at Insomniac Games. A huge thanks to our Sony Interactive Entertainment family for giving us the opportunity to develop these games, Marvel for trusting us with characters that mean so much to so many people, and of course, our fans for continuing to believe in us."

This clearly states that all three Spider-Man games and the Wolverine game take place in a new original universe designed by Insomniac.

We're ecstatic to announce Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Marvel's Wolverine are coming exclusively to PlayStation 5. Stayed tuned for more information! #SpiderManPS5 #WolverinePS5 https://t.co/KAKTcdHwqE pic.twitter.com/pBBQu9aT9t

— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) September 9, 2021

He further hints at more games set in the shared universe, not featuring the titular wall-crawler by mentioning:

"Back when we were working on Marvel’s Spider-Man, there would be times where all of us—Insomniac, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Marvel—would brainstorm together about the future beyond the web-slinger. And even in those early discussions, Wolverine continually came up as the character we’d be really stoked to work on together."

While Spider-Man and Wolverine don’t seem to be crossing over just yet, the Spider-Man 2 trailer hints at a co-op featuring Peter Parker and Miles Morales.

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This article reflects the opinions of the writer.