Insomniac Games is on a bit of a roll with making superhero games and looks to be addingMarvel’s Wolverineto its growing roster of classics. With the success ofMarvel’s Spider-Man,it seems like a no-brainer for the PlayStation studio to replicate its success with another, popular Marvel character. With the introduction of mutants in theMCUand theDeadpool & Wolverinemovie, it seems like the perfect time for such a project. It helps that single-player PlayStation exclusives have a good reputation too, since many have been released with critical acclaim.
In general, Insomniac and Sony have been rather tight-lipped around theMarvel’s Wolverineproject, even despite a few leaks of early alpha gameplay. Officially, very little has been released since the announcement trailer way back during the2021 PlayStation Showcase, and this makes sense, given that thereisn’t a release date for the game and players could wait until 2026. Still, the game will be a PlayStation exclusive, and this could end up being a problem that will hinder the game’s success.
Marvel’s Wolverine PS5 Exclusivity Could Be A Huge Mistake
PlayStation Exclusives Aren’t Selling As Well As Expected
In terms of quality,PlayStation has been on a roll with many of its exclusives in the PS5 era with its exclusives. Titles likeMarvel’s Spider-Man 2,God of War Ragnarök,andFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthhave delivered on what players had hoped for while looking amazing with the added visual capabilities of the PS5, but that doesn’t mean these exclusives are selling as well as hoped. Clearly, these games haven’t been failures in terms of sales, and many have exceeded expectations in terms of quality, butFF7 Rebirthdidn’t perform as Square Enix hoped.
FF7 Rebirthdoesn’t have a release date for its PC port, but it might not get one before its launch. TheFF16PC port got a quiet launch on Steam without much fanfare.
With Insomniac’s recent track record,there isn’t much of a reason to believe thatMarvel’s Wolverinewon’t be another hit in terms of its quality, butFF7 RebirthandFF16,in particular, have shown that quality doesn’t always translate to hopeful sales.
Again, if something is good, it probably won’t fail if it has theMarvelIP behind it, butifMarvel’s Wolverineis going to be a PS5 exclusive there is a possibility it won’t sell as expected. The game will have an immense budget, ifMarvel’s Spider-Man 2’smouth-watering $300 million budget is anything to go by.
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A reason for the relative lack of sales could be that PlayStation exclusives don’t tend to stay exclusive for very long. PC players in particular, who tend to be the biggest demographic for most games,have seen an influx of PlayStation titles recently, and are not having to wait as long for them to end up on Steam. PC players might just wait, instead of getting a PS5, forMarvel’s Wolverine, knowing that it will end up on Steam in a year or two, especially because single player PlayStation titles tend to have great ports.
PlayStation Exclusivity Isn’t As Appealing As It Used To Be
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Very few games are genuinely PS5 exclusives, as of this writing.God of War Ragnarökis hitting PCsoon, whileFinal Fantasy 16,bothHorizon Zero Dawngames, andGhosts of Tsushimaare all a part of Steam’s library.Marvel’s Spider-Man 2andFF7 Rebirthare still exclusive, but this likely won’t be the case for much longer.
And it doesn’t help that Xbox is trying its hardest to make exclusivity a thing of the past. For instance, theIndiana Jonesgame is going to be on PS5, despite being made by an Xbox studio.
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Another problemMarvel’s Wolverinewill have is when it will release. If it ends up taking until 2026 to come out, the next generation of consoles might not be that far away. Previous generations, like the PS3 and PS4,lasted for around six years before the next generation came knocking, and by 2026, the PS5 generation will have lasted six years(it was released in late 2020). Although the game will release on PS5, it could end up getting a definitive edition if it is close enough tothe PS6’s launchto give the new console a game.
Many players may just decide to stay on a PC instead of dealing with a game in the awkward, transitional period between console generations. Even ifMarvel’s Wolverinecomes out in 2025,PC players who never got a PlayStation will likely just wait for a PC port, especially since the PS5 is getting toward the end of its tenure.
Insomniac Games has made a great PC Port too with the firstSpider-Mangame, so it isn’t like PC players will get a worse version of the game. They just have to wait a little longer.
Marvel’s Wolverine Will Likely Still Be A Success
Insomniac Might Have To Wait For A PC Port To Get The Best Numbers
As long as Insomniac delivers withMarvel’s Wolverinequality, the game will likely perform alright and get back the budget. It will be helpedby Wolverine and Deadpool’s introductioninto theMCU, especially if more is done with the X-Men and the Mutants.Wolverine is the mascot for the X-Men for a reason and the perfect figure to make a game about, so it isn’t as though the game will be a risk for Sony, but exclusivity is likely to hinder more than help.
Insomniac have confirmed thatMarvel’s Wolverinewill be in the same world as theSpider-Mangames.
Traditionally,exclusives are meant to help sell a console. Xbox has given up on this because the consoles haven’t sold all that well, unlike PlayStation’s, but it is being hurt by its rival trying to remove exclusivity as a whole.
The PS5 is closer to the end of its generation than its start, and everyone who wants a PS5 has likely got one by now.Marvel’s Wolverinewill likely not help many more be sold, and it is going to be a PS5 title, meaning that it probably won’t help with the PS6’s launch either.
In general, exclusivity seems to affect different companies in different ways, since Nintendo Switch exclusives don’t seem to have any problems with sales, while PS5 exclusives are beginning to suffer. It isn’t as though these PS5 games are below par in terms of quality, which is a problem that Xbox has been having but, with the immense budgets these titles demand, they need immense sales.Marvel’s Wolverineis no exception and will likely find its way to Steam soon after to boost these sales.
