Late last year, first-party PlayStation developer Insomniac Games was the victim of a significant hack and data breach that saw details on upcoming games (including a playable section of the studio's Wolverine game) and internal Sony information. The hack revealed that the studio was also working on an unannounced multiplayer Spider-Man game called Spider-Man: The Great Web - which was canceled.
Alongside the cancelation of Naughty Dog's multiplayer The Last of Us project, studio closures, and skyrocketing development costs, Sony is seemingly moving away from focusing on multiplayer always-online live service games. A trailer for Insomniac's Spider-Man: The Great Web leaked overnight, showcasing a game that looks pretty far along development-wise.
The trailer shows co-op gameplay reminiscent of the Into the Spider-Verse animated movies, where various web slingers team up to tackle crime and villains in the game's open-world New York City. The trailer also shows the franchise's female web-slinger, Gwen, as a playable character. There even looks to be a Venom-style playable character.
The story revolves around a multiverse opened by Scarlet Witch that sees Spider-Man after Spider-Man band together to take on a new threat - the Sinister Six. The trailer is currently viewable on social media, with many gamers mourning the loss of a potential multiplayer game with Insoniac's excellent Spider-Man traversal and combat.
As the game was never formally revealed, the trailer does indicate that its cancelation happened after Sony had planned to officially announce it in one of its State of Play presentations.
Although the concept is sound, and Insomniac has an excellent track record, the failure of high-profile 'live service' multiplayer superhero games is enough to give any publisher or team pause. From Marvel's Avengers to Gotham Knight to the recent Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, there hasn't been a great multiplayer superhero release in the modern gaming era.
- Read more: Report: Insomniac hacked, Wolverine PS5 game content included in ransomware attack
- Read more: PlayStation's low profit margins lead to mass layoffs, studio closures, game cancellations
- Read more: Sony wants to grow first-party games on 'PS5, PC, and other platforms'
- Read more: Big 3 revenues compared: PlayStation made $30 billion in 2023, Xbox $18 billion
