Sony and Insomniac Games have shared slow 2024s, but the same could be said for the whole industry’s AAA studios that year. Despite that, both have been busy preparing future releases behind the scenes, with Ghost of Yotei and Marvel’s Wolverine both getting fans excited about the PlayStation 5’s future. Insomniac contributed to the PS5 finding its footing during its first year with the release of its well-received Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, with another Spider-Man installment coming later. The Marvel games are taking precedence over Ratchet & Clank right now, but both are still strong contributions to the PlayStation lineup.
At least, they both should be. Insomniac Games has become PlayStation's go-to licensed Marvel game studio, and while it's done a stellar job, that's all it feels like it's been doing. For the time being, this feeling has more to do with the perception of Insomniac making mostly Marvel titles than them actually eclipsing the rest of Insomniac’s output, but there's reason to worry that it could become the status quo. Ratchet & Clank used to be Insomniac’s claim to fame and a treasured PlayStation franchise, and it would be tragic if that was no longer the case.
The PS5 Will Soon Be the Ultimate Ratchet and Clank Machine
Soon, the PlayStation 5 will become the ultimate machine for anyone that wants to play through the Ratchet and Clank series.
Ratchet & Clank Used To Be Insomniac’s Star PlayStation Franchise
Insomniac Games may have become a full Sony Interactive Entertainment studio in 2019, but the pair have shared a long and fruitful partnership for most of Insomniac's life. The Spyro the Dragon trilogy gave the PS1 one of its unofficial mascots in the late 90’s, and 2002’s Ratchet & Clank repeated the feat for the PS2. For the next decade, Insomniac diligently pumped out Ratchet & Clank games, as well as the Resistance trilogy, carving out its place as a valued Sony studio with a strong primary franchise. Experimenting with smaller projects and other publishers throughout the 2010s felt earned after all of Insomniac's work.
Insomniac's Relationship With R&C Changed After Marvel’s Spider-Man
The studio put out a few more Ratchet & Clank titles during that time, but things changed when it was tapped to make Marvel’s Spider-Man for Sony. Its 2018 launch smashed all expectations of quality and sales performance, likely hastening Sony’s decision to finally acquire Insomniac the following year.
As with most AAA studios, Insomniac has spent the 2020s so far putting out fewer games than it used to and is currently taking a long break from Ratchet & Clank but has maintained its high bar for quality while splitting its focus between two valuable IPs. The only problem is that there doesn't seem to be even ground between said IPs, and that could get worse going forward.
Marvel Games Risk Replacing Ratchet & Clank Entirely
As seen in the December 2023 Insomniac leak, there's a lot of Marvel coming down the pipe. Including Marvel’s Wolverine, only one of the six known and rumored upcoming Insomniac titles is Ratchet & Clank, and it isn't projected to release until at least fiscal year 2029. That's the second-furthest game away, just before an alleged 2030 X-Men game, and there's no telling what new developments like the leak itself, the changing financial climate for AAA games, and the cancelation of a multiplayer Spider-Man title alongside Spider-Man 2's DLC mean for any of Insomniac's ongoing plans.
Ratchet & Clank is currently playing second fiddle to Marvel-licensed games with no spin-offs in sight. Should this keep up, especially if Insomniac gets hit by the layoffs plaguing the industry, Ratchet & Clank risks total abandonment. As a consistently well-received Sony franchise that's important to the platform’s history, it would be a shame to lose Ratchet & Clank now. It has more adventures left in it and Rift Apart’s new duo of Rivet and Kit can’t be left behind in a single game. PlayStation and Insomniac need to make sure that, no matter how much time and effort their Marvel games demand, Ratchet & Clank still gets its time in the spotlight.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 93%
- Released
- June 11, 2021
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Insomniac Games
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
- Engine
- Insomniac Engine v. 4.0
- Franchise
- ratchet and clank
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
WHERE TO PLAY
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5
- Genre(s)
- Platformer, Third-Person Shooter
- How Long To Beat
- 11 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
