Warning: Spoilers ahead for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Insomniac Games’ giant leak brought a ton of information on the studio’s future, as well as wider insight into the PlayStation brand via sales data and exclusivity deals. Gamers now know that Insomniac will be making a Venom video game, working on an X-Men project, and a new Ratchet and Clank over the next five years. Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 is also in the works, and given how clear Marvel's Spider-Man 2's setup for another game was, this is hardly a surprise. However, what is surprising is the notion that it could be a two-part game.
Alongside some disappointing information that Insomniac scrapped a Marvel’s Spider-Man co-op game that would have been treated as a live service title, fans of the franchise now know that Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 has been pitched as a two-part game. How the game will be titled is anyone’s guess, as it would have likely just been called Marvel’s Spider-Man 4 behind the scenes if it was a full sequel. Given the close release dates for the game, though, it is possible to speculate on this supposed two-part finale for the franchise.
Fortnite, Spider-Man 2 Sound Designer Talks What Makes Good Sound Design
Award-winning sound designer Gary Miranda speaks with The Best War Games about what he's listening for when it comes to a game's audio.
What Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 Being Two Parts Could Mean
Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 Could Be Telling a Massive Story
Insomniac aiming to release one half of Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 around Holiday 2027 and the second half one year later during the Holiday 2028 window suggests that a few things could be happening with the game. First, it seems likely that there will be a massive cliffhanger to conclude the first half of the game. Assuming that Peter stays retired for a bit, perhaps part 1 will focus entirely on Miles Morales and Silk, with Peter coming back to fight his greatest foe Doc Ock in the second part of the game. Alternatively, a big character reveal or death could keep fans talking for a year until the next part of the game releases, with Insomniac Games borrowing a successful trick from the MCU, as Infinity War and Endgame had a similar gap.
Not only would a cliffhanger make sense for a two-part game, but so too would a story that gives the two villains teased for the game the same amount of screen time. The first half of the game may focus fully on Green Goblin, making sure that he has plenty of time to shine instead of splitting attention between two villains like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 did - a move that saw many complaining that Venom went underused. After Goblin is dealt with in the first half of the story, Doc Ock could be the main focus of the second, with his personal rivalry against Peter Parker becoming more heated than ever. While a one-year gap between releases means big gameplay challenges should not be expected, there are plenty of story threads to justify a two-part release.
The leak also mentions a multiplayer mode for Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 that will release alongside Part 1, as well as a bundle combining the two singleplayer parts and this multiplayer for 2029. Though this is purely speculation, perhaps this multiplayer mode will reuse ideas from The Great Web.
There’s Another Reason Why Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 May Be Two Parts
Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 being a two-part game may also come down to business, with Insomniac Games trying to make the series’ large budgets an easier pill to swallow for Sony. With Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 costing $350 million to make, and its successor also expected to be expensive, making one huge game and splitting it into two parts could effectively double its sales, as most players would want to stick around to see the full story. Though Insomniac may just want the grandest finale possible for its Spidey saga, with a two-part game feeling like a proper event, revenue could also be a big motivator.
Obviously, fans should take the leaked info with a grain of salt, as plans may change behind the scenes before Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 releases and gamers may be reading too much into the two-part information - even if it is hard to argue against the evidence. Perhaps “Part 2” will just be a semi-sequel based on Silk or a big DLC expansion, with Insomniac simply referring to this game as Part 2 internally since it is part of the same budget and project. Still, the notion that fans could get Marvel's Spider-Man games in back-to-back years is exciting.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- October 20, 2023
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Drug Reference, Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Insomniac Games
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
WHERE TO PLAY
Spider-Men Peter Parker and Miles Morales face the ultimate test of strength inside and outside the mask as they fight to save the city, each other and the ones they love, from the monstrous Venom and the dangerous new symbiote threat.
Explore an expansive Marvel’s New York with faster web-swinging and the all-new Web Wings, quickly switching between Peter and Miles to experience different stories, epic new abilities and high-tech gear.
Wield Peter’s symbiote abilities and Miles’ explosive bio-electric powers in battle against new and iconic Marvel Super Villains – including an original take on a symbiote-infused Venom, the ruthless Kraven the Hunter, the volatile Lizard, and more from the Marvel Rogues’ Gallery.
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action-Adventure, Superhero
