| Marvel's Spider-Man | |
|---|---|
 Series logo | |
| Genre | Action-adventure |
| Developer | Insomniac Games[a] |
| Publisher | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| Artist | Grant Hollis |
| Writers |
|
| Composer | John Paesano |
| Platforms | |
| First release | Marvel's Spider-Man September 7, 2018 |
| Latest release | Marvel's Spider-Man 2 October 20, 2023 |
| Parent series | Spider-Man video games |
Marvel's Spider-Man is a series ofsuperheroaction-adventure video games developed byInsomniac Games and published bySony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) forPlayStation consoles andWindows. Based on characters appearing inMarvel Comics publications, the games are inspired by the long-running comic book lore, while additionally deriving from various adaptationsin other media. The series principally follows the main protagonists Peter Parker andMiles Morales who fight crime inNew York City as dual bearers of the eponymous superhero persona Spider-Men while dealing with the complications of their civilian lives.
Marvel Games entered negotiations with SIE regarding developing third party games based on their characters, leading to frequent collaborative studio Insomniac Games being selected to acquire the license for the Spider-Man character fromActivision in 2014. The series began withMarvel's Spider-Man and its subsequentdownloadable content (DLC) expansionThe City That Never Sleeps, which was released on thePlayStation 4 in late 2018; the game and its DLC were later collected together and released asa remastered version for thePlayStation 5 in November 2020 and Windows in August 2022. A directspin-off title,Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, was released on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in November 2020 alongsideMarvel's Spider-Man Remastered, with a Windows port released in November 2022. A sequel to the original game and theMiles Morales spin-off,Marvel's Spider-Man 2, was released for the PlayStation 5 in October 2023, and for Windows in January 2025. A third entry,Marvel's Spider-Man 3, is in development.
The series is set in ashared universe in a similar fashion to theMarvel Universe of the comic books, being supported by other standalone games developed by Insomniac Games that share continuity with the studio'sSpider-Man titles.Marvel's Wolverine, a game focused onthe titular character, is set to release in 2026 for PlayStation 5. A standaloneVenom game[b] following his appearance inMarvel's Spider-Man 2, is currently in development.Marvel's X-Men, a game focusing on theteam of the same name, is planned.[1]
The currently released main entries in theMarvel's Spider-Man series have been met with positive commercial success and critical acclaim, with praise for their narratives, characters, world design, voice acting, graphics, and gameplay. Various tie-in novels by Titan Books and comic books published by Marvel Comics have been released, expanding the games' universe. Insomniac's version of Peter Parker also appears in the comic book eventSpider-Geddon (2018), which designated the series as taking place on "Earth-1048" in the larger Marvel Comicsmultiverse. Parker also makes acameo appearance in the animated filmSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), with Yuri Lowenthal briefly reprising his role.
Video games featuringMarvel Comics characters were primarily developed and published byActivision since 1998, with the characterSpider-Man appearing inmultiple titles both as the primary playable character and as a supporting character since 2000.[2] However, asMarvel Games vice president Jay Ong would come to reflect on in 2016, the terms of Marvel and Activision's deal necessitated quicker development periods on games in order to tie such products intoupcoming films based around Marvel properties. Ong would reminisce about how it was "difficult to succeed" under those circumstances as a result of instances where "there wasn't enough time to come out with something truly terrific".[3] Dissatisfied with the eventual output of the publisher, Marvel Games would elect to terminate their partnership with Activision in 2014 just prior to the release of the movie tie-in game,The Amazing Spider-Man 2.[4][5] During a meeting with executives from the publishing firm, Ong would be asked by Activision, "What are you going to do with this IP after you get it back?". Ong would cite a need to "find a better home for it" in response, with the publisher's representative taunting him in return, "Good luck finding your unicorn".[6]
To rejuvenate the IP, Ong's primary objective was to find "a publishing partner who hadn't adopted the "crappy licensed games" mentality", as well as one with "a vested interest that would benefit from building a franchise".[7] In particular, Marvel Games were looking to create a gaming IP around one of their characters that would rival the likes of theBatman: Arkham series fromWB Games andRocksteady Studios, credited with legitimizing and popularizing video game adaptations based on comic book characters.[8] The primary candidates considered for spearheading Marvel's new commitment toAAA games wereMicrosoft Studios,Sony Interactive Entertainment andNintendo. Nintendo was ruled out initially as a result of the technical limitations of the Nintendo Switch as well as the publisher's perceived dedication to pursuing games using their owncharacters andfranchises (though they would eventually collaborate with Marvel in developingMarvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order (2019) forNintendo Switch[9]), while Microsoft turned down Marvel's offer due to a desire to focus on building their own IP (They would later collaborate with Marvel on producing the upcomingMarvel's Blade through publisherBethesda Softworks[10]).[11] Eventually, Jay Ong would meet with Sony executives Adam Boyes and John Drake, in order to pitch an overall development deal with Marvel, with the hope that they could collaborate and "beatArkham and have one game at least and maybe multiple games that could drive adoption", of Sony'sPlayStation platforms.[12][6]
SIE eventually signed off on the deal, prompting their Vice President of Product DevelopmentConnie Booth to visit developerInsomniac Games in order to speak with studio CEOTed Price, with discussions about the potential Marvel project being heldoff-the-record.[13][14] Price was described as being "fairly neutral" towards the prospects of developing a game based on a Marvel Comics property, as Insomniac up to that point purely worked on their own original franchises, but his development team were comparatively enthusiastic about the project.[15] As Marvel allowed Insomniac to select any of their characters to adapt, the team decided on Spider-Man as a result of being able to relate to the dynamic presented between the heroic Spider-Man and his everyman alter-ego, Peter Parker.[15] They would also come to find the task of adapting the character daunting, as a result of his popularity, in addition to the numerous existing stories and interpretations of the character bothin comics andin other media. However, they also welcomed the challenge, particularly art director Jacinda Chew, who consulted online resources and various Marvel staff in order to cultivate extensive knowledge of the character.[14]
Creative director Bryan Intihar said: "I feel like he's the most relatable of the heroes. As much as I loveTony Stark, it's harder to identify with a billionaire. As much as I loveThor, it's hard to identify with a god. Peter makes mistakes, he has ups and downs in his career, his relationships, his family. I think we can all relate to that".[14] Price also commented that Spider-Man "is so human, and he's so relatable. He's also the most popular Marvel character in the world, I think". Price also considered the technical benefits;Sunset Overdrive has a dynamic traversal system that could be built upon for Spider-Man.[16]Spider-Man became the first licensed property developed by Insomniac in its then 22-year existence.[13]
Upon the announcement of thespin-off titleMarvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales for thePlayStation 4 andPlayStation 5,[17] Sony vice president Simon Rutter toldThe Telegraph that the game was "an expansion and an enhancement tothe previous game", while Insomniac later called the project a standalone game, stating that it is "the next adventure in theMarvel's Spider-Man universe". It is smaller in size and scope thanSpider-Man, and has been compared toUncharted: The Lost Legacy, a game which served as a standalone expansion that was smaller in size and scope than a mainlineUncharted title. The game was additionally described as featuring "a new story, with new set-pieces, fresh villains, and unique quests".[18]
During the development ofMarvel's Spider-Man, Insomniac, Marvel and SIE discussed prospects for future games based onMarvel Comics properties beyond Spider-Man, with the team at Insomniac continually suggesting their desire to work on a game featuringWolverine. The development team were drawn to the character through the similar moral compass he shares with Spider-Man, notably the fact that "both heroes feel deeply compelled to defend people who are less able to do so". Insomniac eventually elected to pitch this idea to both Marvel and Sony as their next licensed property following their successful collaboration with the two parties on developingMarvel's Spider-Man.[19]Marvel's Wolverine is currently being developed alongsideMarvel's Spider-Man 2 (2023), which was jointly announced in September 2021.[20] For the latter game, Bryan Intihar and Ryan Smith serve as the game's creative and game directors, respectively reprising their roles fromSpider-Man.[citation needed]
Marvel's Spider-Man series was later released onWindows alongside the existing PlayStation versions starting withSpider-Man Remastered in August 2022, andMiles Morales later that November, marking another push by the publisher to release its variousPlayStation Studios titles onPC. A support studioNixxes Software, whom Sony acquired in July 2021, helped in porting the games to PC.[21][22][23][24]
In December 2023, Insomniac Games was subjected to a ransomware attack by the group Rhysida, who successfully breached approximately 1.67terabytes (TB) of studio assets, such as development documents, internal financial forecasts, and compromising sensitive information pertaining to various employees and staff members at the developer.[25] Following the initial attack, Rhysida threatened to release all procured images and resources obtained from the hack seven days from the incident, additionally holding an auction for the data with a starting price at 50Bitcoin, equivalent to US$2 million. Sony Interactive Entertainment issued a statement toVideo Games Chronicle stating their intent to investigate the reports surrounding the hack, but did not anticipate the incident to affect other divisions of SIE or Sony Corporation as a whole.[26] Upon the deadline's conclusion, company information including employee data, model dumps and pre-production slates for various games in development were published online. The materials principally concerned production assets related toMarvel's Wolverine, but also comprised other assets that alluded to the existence of multiple other Marvel video games at various stages in development, such as a standaloneVenom spin-off game,Marvel's Spider-Man 3, and a previously canceledmultiplayer game titledMarvel's Spider-Man: The Great Web that derived heavily from the concept of the "Spider-Verse" and featured a playable roster of alternateSpider-People. Other projects included proposed online expansions forMarvel's Spider-Man 2 andMarvel's Wolverine, andMarvel's X-Men, a standalone game focusing on theteam of the same name that was expected to narratively followMarvel's Wolverine.[27][28][29][30][31] Additionally, an internal presentation detailing the royalty andexclusivity margins between Sony Interactive Entertainment and Marvel, revealed that the publisher had signed a new agreement for Insomniac Games to develop licensedX-Men video games until 2035, with the expectation thatMarvel's Wolverine would begin a standalone trilogy of games centered aroundmutant characters in a similar vein to theSpider-Man games.[32][33]
| Year | Title | Developer | Home release |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Marvel's Spider-Man | Insomniac Games | PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5,2Windows2 |
| Marvel's Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps1 | |||
| 2020 | Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows | |
| 2023 | Marvel's Spider-Man 2 | PlayStation 5, Windows | |
| 2026 | Marvel's Wolverine | PlayStation 5 | |
Notes:
| |||
| 2018 | Marvel's Spider-Man |
|---|---|
| The City That Never Sleeps | |
| 2019 | |
| 2020 | Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales |
| Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered | |
| 2021 | |
| 2022 | |
| 2023 | Marvel's Spider-Man 2 |
| 2024 | |
| 2025 | |
| 2026 | Marvel's Wolverine |
Marvel's Spider-Man is the first entry in the series, released for thePlayStation 4 in September 2018. Taking place eight years intoPeter Parker's career as Spider-Man, it focuses on the super-human crime lordMister Negative, and his plot to seize control ofNew York City's criminal underworld. When he threatens to release a deadly virus with the assistance of a group of escaped supervillains known as theSinister Six, Spider-Man must confront him and save the city while dealing with the personal problems of his civilian persona. He is accompanied in his efforts by formerDaily Bugle colleague and ex-girlfriendMary Jane Watson,New York City Police Department (NYPD) captainYuri Watanabe, andMiles Morales, son of NYPD officerJefferson Davis.[34][35]
Insomniac supported the game with adownloadable content (DLC) campaign,The City That Never Sleeps, consisting of three episodes that were released monthly from October to December 2018. Taking place a few months following the events of the base game, the DLC sees Spider-Man combat a new crime wave led by the physically enhanced mob bossHammerhead, with the assistance of expert thief and former loverFelicia Hardy, andSilver Sablinova, the owner and operator of the mercenary group Sable International.[36]
Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered collects both the original game and all three chapters ofThe City That Never Sleeps. The remaster additionally boasts numerous graphical and presentation improvements, namely the implementation of two game presets: "Fidelity Mode" for increasing the game's graphical detail and enabling real-timeray tracing, and "Performance Mode" for scaling the resolution dynamically while increasing the game's framerate. A third presentation option, "Performance RT", was added following the game's launch in order to enable real-time ray tracing while increasing performance capabilities. Other features include "near-instant loading" accomplished by the consoleSSD as well as support for both Sony's3D Audio technology and theDualSense controller's haptic feedback. The remaster introduces a reworked in-game model forPeter Parker motion captured by Ben Jordan, replacing original actor John Bubinak, and also includes additional suits not initially available in the original PlayStation 4 release, including the exclusive "Black and Gold Suit" & "Hybrid Suit", inspired by the suits worn byPeter Parker in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) filmSpider-Man: No Way Home (2021).[37][38][39][40]
The game was initially released worldwide in November 2020 as a launch title for thePlayStation 5, and was bundled alongside the Ultimate Edition ofMarvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales on the console. Alternatively, it is obtainable through upgrading the PS4 version ofMiles Morales and purchasing the remaster individually, and allowed cross-save functionality between it and the original PS4 version ofMarvel's Spider-Man. The remaster was made available for individual purchase as a digital title on the PlayStation Store in May 2023, with existing owners of the original PS4 version being entitled to an upgrade for a fee.[41] A Windows version of the remaster developed by PlayStation sister studioNixxes Software was released as a standalone title onSteam and theEpic Games Store worldwide in August 2022.[42][43][44] The PC version of the remaster boasts numerous specific improvements, such asNVIDIA DLSS andDLAA support, compatibility withultrawide and panoramic display monitors, an additional presentation preset known as "Ultimate RT" for capable NVIDIA andAMD graphics cards, native support for various controllers and mouse & keyboard input, and options for unlocked framerates to enhance game performance.[45][46][47]
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales was released in November 2020 on the PlayStation 4, and as a launch title for the PlayStation 5, and was released for Windows in November 2022.[38] It follows Parker's friend Miles Morales, who acquired similar spider-based powers at the end of the first game and was subsequently trained by Parker. When both Parker and Mary Jane Watson go on an excursion toSymkaria for a few weeks, Miles is left to defend New York as its sole Spider-Man, and must protect his new home,Harlem, after it becomes caught in the crossfire of a war between theRoxxon Energy Corporation and a high-tech criminal army called the Underground, led by the mysteriousTinkerer.[48][49]
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 launched on the PlayStation 5 in October 2023.[50][51] It depicts Peter Parker and Miles Morales struggling to navigate their respective futures while balancing their personal lives with their duties to the city as Spider-Men. When the Hunters, a private mercenary group led bySergei "Kraven" Kravinoff arrive and transform New York into a hunting ground for the Spider-Men and their rogues, Peter and Miles must combat a variety of villains while the former comes into contact withVenom, an extraterrestrialsymbiote that bonds to Parker and negatively influences him.[52][53]
In September 2023, shortly beforeMarvel's Spider-Man 2's release, narrative director Ben Arfmann addressed the possibility of future games.[54][55] The following month, senior creative director Bryan Intihar said that a potential third installment would be "pretty epic", comparing the stories ofSpider-Man andSpider-Man: Miles Morales to theMarvel Cinematic Universe filmIron Man (2008) and the story ofSpider-Man 2 toCaptain America: Civil War (2016).[56]Marvel's Spider-Man 2 co-writers Benjamin Arfmann and Britney Morris later addressed the implications of the game's ending, confirming thatMiles Morales would be considered the main Spider-Man in the series' future entries.[57] As part of a ransomware attack from the group Rhysidia in December 2023, details on Insomniac Games' future roadmap for titles were published online, includingMarvel's Spider-Man 3, which was aiming internally for a 2028 launch with a consideration made for splitting the title into two parts.[58]
In September 2021,Insomniac Games announced at the PlayStation Showcase event that they were in early development for a new game,Marvel's Wolverine, based on thecharacter of the same name. It features a standalone narrative set within the same continuity as the studio'sSpider-Man games. It will be released forPlayStation 5 in late 2026.[59][52][60][61]
In October 2023, senior narrative director Jon Paquette and Insomniac discussed the possibility of a spin-off game involving theVenom character after the character's debut inSpider-Man 2.[62] A standalone Venom game[c] was leaked a few months later as part of an internal Insomniac Games roadmap discussing future titles for the studio, that was published online as part of a ransomware attack by the group Rhysidia.[63]
Another game,Marvel's X-Men, based on theeponymous team, was leaked as part of an internal Insomniac Games studio roadmap that was published online during the hack. It is expected to be a narrative continuation from the events ofMarvel's Wolverine and the second game in an X-Men-focused trilogy.[58][64]
All of the currently released games in theMarvel's Spider-Man series have been composed byJohn Paesano.[107][108][109] The respective soundtracks forMarvel's Spider-Man andMarvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales have been collected indigital streaming and physicalvinyl formats in collaboration with Mondo.[110][111] Additionally, three vocal tracks were produced for theMiles Morales original soundtrack: "I'm Ready" byJaden Smith,[112] and "Where We Come From" and "This is My Time" byLecrae.[113] A vocal track forMarvel's Spider-Man 2, "Swing" byEarthGang ft.Benji, was released on streaming services in September 2023.[114]
Marvel's Spider-Man: City at War was published byMarvel Comics as their first title under their Gamerverse label in March 2019, serving as a six issue comic book adaptation ofMarvel's Spider-Man's main campaign narrative, while expanding on specific story events. The adaptation was written byDennis Hopeless, with art by Luca Maresca and colorist David Curiel.[115]
Marvel's Spider-Man: Velocity, published later in 2019, spans five issues and depicts an original narrative set within the continuity of the game. The story takes place between the events of the main campaign inMarvel's Spider-Man, and the events of the three-partdownloadable content (DLC) campaign,The City That Never Sleeps, and explores the origin behind Parker's creation of the Velocity Suit, in addition to his encounter with the supervillainSwarm, and a separate investigation conducted byMary Jane Watson and her colleague from theDaily Bugle,Ben Urich, into Haley Harvey, otherwise nicknamed the Speed Demon.[116][117]
Marvel's Spider-Man: The Black Cat Strikes, published in 2020, is a five issuelimited series adapting the events ofThe City That Never Sleeps. Dennis Hopeless and Luca Maresca reprise their duties as story writer and artist, respectively. In addition to directly adapting the events from the game's narrative, the story additionally expands on Peter Parker andFelicia Hardy's relationship and history, through scenarios not depicted in the DLC chapters.[118]
As part ofFree Comic Book Day in 2023, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Marvel published one-shot prequel comic that leads into the events ofMarvel's Spider-Man 2, released on May 6, in local comic shops, and digitally on theMarvel Unlimited app. The comic was written byChristos Gage, who previously served as a writer onMarvel's Spider-Man, with art by Ig Gaura. The story follows Peter Parker, Miles Morales and Mary Jane Watson as the three of them struggle to balance Morales' school life, MJ's work and the responsibility the two Spider-Men have to New York as they come into conflict with a magic-infused criminal namedThe Hood.[41]
Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover was written byDavid Liss and published byTitan Books on August 21, 2018. It is a prequel novel covering events before the main campaign ofMarvel's Spider-Man, detailing Peter Parker's continued efforts to expose businessmanWilson Fisk's activities as the Kingpin of Crime, his encounter with the doppelganger vigilanteBlood Spider, and his confrontation with Fisk's surrogate niece and assailant,Maya Lopez / Echo, who is convinced by Fisk that Spider-Man killed her father.[119][120]
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Wings of Fury was written by Brittney Morris and published by Titan Books on November 10, 2020. It is a prequel novel taking place between the events of thedownloadable content (DLC) campaignThe City That Never Sleeps (2018) and the standalone gameMarvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020). The story depicts Morales' early partnership with Peter Parker / Spider-Man, as the two vigilantes set out to apprehendAdrian Toomes / Vulture, who has broken out ofthe Raft and teamed with his granddaughter Tiana Toomes, going under the alias "Starling".[121][122]
Marvel's Spider-Man: The Art of the Game was published byTitan Books on September 11, 2018. Written byPaul Davies, it compiles numerous concept art pieces and renders of the game's primary cast, and various elements such as locations, costumes and tech, paired with additional insight into the game's creative process from developers, artists and designers who worked on the game.[123]
Marvel's Spider-Man Script Book, authored by Jon Paquette, Christos Gage, and Benjamin Arfmann, was published on February 11, 2020. It features the game's original script alongside numerous art pieces and renders with added insights and commentary from the game's writers.[124]
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales – The Art of the Game, authored by Matt Ralphs, was published by Titan Books on February 23, 2021. It compiles concept illustrations and various in-game renderings of characters, tech, locations, gadgets and costumes from throughout the development period of the title.[125]
Insomniac's Peter Parker appeared in the crossover event "Spider-Geddon" (2018), a sequel to the 2014 storyline "Spider-Verse" written byChristos Gage and published byMarvel Comics on September 26, 2018, following the character's debut appearance inMarvel's Spider-Man. It established the game's events as taking place in the universe of "Earth-1048" within the largerMarvel Multiverse. In the story, Parker joins forces with the Superior Spider-Army led byOtto Octavius / Superior Spider-Man, in order to combat the recently liberatedInheritors and avert the deaths of allSpider-People across the multiverse. The story ofSpider-Geddon takes place after the events of the game, and also introduces the universe's version ofTarantula, with Octavius secretly leaving a message for his game counterpart, to allow him to potentially also becomethe Superior Spider-Man.[126][127]
Peter's Advanced Suit fromMarvel's Spider-Man is depicted in the Spider-Lair among the lineup of alternate suits worn by the Peter Parker ofMiles Morales' reality in the animated filmSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018).[128] Peter himself from the games makes a physical appearance in its sequelSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), as Insomniac Spider-Man of Earth-1048 and a member of the Spider-Society led byMiguel O' Hara / Spider-Man 2099, with Yuri Lowenthal briefly reprising his voice role.[129][130] Other versions of Peter Parker with the Advanced Suit from the first game can be seen in the same style as other characters in the film. In addition, gameplay ofMarvel's Spider-Man 2 was featured in a scene at Miles Morales' dorm room, where his best friend Ganke Lee was seen playing the game on a PlayStation 5 console.[131]
TheMarvel's Spider-Man series, among other titles developed byInsomniac Games, was referenced inAstro's Playroom (2020), apack-in game for thePlayStation 5 released at the console's launch, which featured numerous allusions to various franchises published on or exclusive toPlayStation consoles. When entering the Caching Caves area, turning south-east of the Shock Walls leads to a room with an Astro Bot hanging upside-down from a web on the ceiling, referencing a pose commonly associated with the character.[132] Peter Parker and Miles Morales themselves appear in Playroom's follow upAstro Bot as unlockable bots found in the game's Winter Wonder level, released in a free update on December 12, 2024.[133][134][135]
Marvel's Iron Man VR was released in July 2020 on thePlayStation VR, and later ported to theMeta Quest 2 and released byOculus Studios in November 2022. Published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, it features a standalone narrative which references the continuity of theMarvel's Spider-Man games.[136] Director Ryan Payton later stated that despite the developer's intent to tell a standalone narrative, "there are definitely opportunities to link the worlds" and he hoped that the two-game series could share some references to each other in future installments.[137]
| Game | Metacritic |
|---|---|
| Marvel's Spider-Man | 87/100[138][139] |
| Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales | (PS4) 84/100[140] (PS5) 85/100[141] (PC) 88/100[142] |
| Marvel's Spider-Man 2 | (PS5) 90/100[143] (PC) 74/100[144] |
The three currently released games in theMarvel's Spider-Man series have been met with critical acclaim and commercial success. Critics have citedMarvel's Spider-Man (2018) as one of the best comic book-based games ever created, with outlets such asVentureBeat andGame Informer positively comparing the game toBatman: Arkham Asylum (2009), a game that was similarly praised for breaking conventions associated with games based on comic book characters with its reinterpretation of the mythos.[145][146] The game's mechanics were another point of praise, with many lauding the innovations and refinements made to the web-swinging and traversal systems.EGMNOW commented on the gameplay inMarvel's Spider-Man being more streamlined compared to the similar functions present in the video game adaptationSpider-Man 2 (2004).[147] The combat was similarly praised for its fluidity and emphasis on gadgetry and utilization of the environment for performing attacks,[146][148] withIGN further observing how the depth of the game's combat system allowed for improvization.[149] The story received particular praise from critics and fans.USGamer specifically cited the narrative as the game's strongest aspect and highlighted the story's interpretation of thetitle character and his supporting cast,[150] whileGamesRadar+ described its characters as being voiced and performed with unexpected depth and charisma.[151] TheRemastered port forPlayStation 5 and PC received additional praise for its updated presentation, improvements to technical details such as facial and hair textures, and additional quality-of-life improvements that brought the game in closer parity withMiles Morales, although the replacement of John Bubinak with Ben Jordan as the facial capture model for Peter Parker garnered a mixed response.[152][153] The PC version was particularly applauded for its optimization for the platform and seamless compatibility on theSteam Deck.[154][155][156]
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020) also enjoyed similarly favorable reviews. Jonathon Dornbush ofIGN enjoyed the new PS5 enhancements of the game and the more compelling side content.[157]Destructoid's Chris Carter praised the game's story and Miles' new abilities.[158] Andrew Reiner ofGame Informer appreciated the improvements to combat and the area of Harlem.[159]
As of May 2022, theMarvel's Spider-Man series has sold over 33 million copies worldwide.[160]Marvel's Spider-Man (2018) managed to sell 3.3 million units—including those bundled withPlayStation 4 consoles, within its first three days of release, resulting in the title surpassing the 3.1 million unit mark previously achieved byGod of War (2018) to become thefastest selling first-party video game release inSony Interactive Entertainment's history,[161] as well as the fastest-selling PlayStation 4 exclusive entirely, up until that record was usurped byFinal Fantasy VII Remake (2020) fromSquare Enix at 3.5 million units within the same timeframe.[162] The news outletUSA Today additionally estimated that the game made at least $198 million during said period for Sony, surpassing the $117 million domestic box office total accumulated by theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) filmSpider-Man: Homecoming in 2017. Additionally, sales projections fromThe NPD Group touted thatMarvel's Spider-Man had garnered 37% higher release-month sales than the combined totals for every previousSpider-Man game released since 1995.[163] By July 2019,Marvel's Spider-Man became the best-selling game based on a comic book character, beating out the combined lifetime sales ofBatman: Arkham City (2011) fromWB Games andRocksteady,[164] after having already achieved the title of the fastest-selling comic book-based game in the U.S. in November 2018.[165] The game additionally became one of the best-selling Western-developed PlayStation 4 titles inJapan, being surpassed only byCall of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018) andMinecraft (2011), as well as the best-selling Western-developed SIE title sinceCrash Bandicoot: Warped for the originalPlayStation, developed byNaughty Dog in 1998.[166] The game'sRemastered release for Windows debuted with a concurrent peak of 63,384 players on theSteam platform, making it the second largest debut for aPlayStation Studios title on Steam followingGod of War.[167]
The PlayStation 4 version ofMarvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020) sold 22,882 physical copies within its first week on sale in Japan, making it the eighth-best-selling retail game of the week in the country. During the same week, thePlayStation 5 version was the tenth-best-selling retail game in Japan, selling 18,640 physical copies.[168]Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales was also the best-selling physical PlayStation 5 launch game in theUnited Kingdom.[169] InGermany, the game sold over 100,000 copies in its launch month[170] and 200,000 copies by the end of December 2020.[171] As of December 2020, the game has sold a combined total of 663,000 digital copies across both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 platforms.[172] In April 2021, Jeff Grubb ofVentureBeat reported that the game had outsold bothThe Last of Us Part II andGhost of Tsushima (both 2020) with regards to lifetime sales.[173] As of July 2021, the game had sold over 6.5 million copies.[174][175]Miles Morales was the twelfth best-selling game of 2020, and the sixth best-selling game of 2021.[176][177]
In November 2020, it was informed that Marvel's Spider-Man reportedly sold more than 20 million copies.
In May 2022, theMarvel's Spider-Man series was reported to have sold over 33 million copies.[178]Marvel's Spider-Man 2 sold over five million units in ten days.[179]
As of February 14, 2024, the Marvel's Spider-Man series sold more than 50 million copies, with Marvel's Spider-Man 2 having sold 10 million units.[180] As of April 20, 2024Marvel's Spider-Man 2 had surpassed 11M+ units sold,[181] pushing the franchise's total sales to at least 51 million copies. By September 2024, Marvel's Spider-Man Miles Morales had sold around 15 million units.[182]
| Year | Game | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Marvel's Spider-Man | 25 million |
| 2020 | Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales | 15 million |
| 2023 | Marvel's Spider-Man 2 | 11 million+ |
| Total series sales: 51 million+ | ||
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