Skip to main content

Insomniac’s Spider-Man game for PS4 coming in 2017, Marvel exec says

Spider-Man PS4 E3 2016 Teaser
A Marvel executive may have let slip the release window for the upcoming PlayStation 4 exclusive Spider-Man game, stating that the game will be out in 2017.

In a clip posted to the gaming message board Neogaf, Marvel Digital Media vice president and executive editor Ryan Penagos said the PS4 Spider-Man game will be out this year. “There’s even more on the horizon for 2017, like Spider-Man coming to PlayStation 4 and Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite coming to Xbox One, PS4, Windows PC,” Penagos said excitedly.

The PS4 Spider-Man game in development by Ratchet and Clank and Sunset Overdrive studio Insomniac Games was announced during Sony’s 2016 E3 press conference. Not much is known about the PS4 game beyond what’s seen in the teaser video above, and even that might not be representative of actual gameplay. If the PS4 Spider-Man game really is coming out this year, though, we should expect to see more of it soon, especially at E3 2017 in June.

There are some caveats to this rumor, however. For one thing it’s unclear exactly where the video came from, though it appears to be some sort of official Marvel stream. It’s also unclear how old the clip is. The Neogaf poster connected the quote in the clip with a tweet from last week in which Penagos said he was having a meeting about “#SpiderManPS4,” but it turns out the video might be significantly older.

James Stevenson, Insomniac’s community and marketing lead, chimed in on the message board to clarify. “As we’ve always said, no release time frame has been announced,” he said. “Also that clip is not new at all — it’s months old — so don’t connect it with a tweet about a meeting last week.”

In addition Insomniac tweeted a similar refutation, stating that “No release time frame has been announced.”

No release timeframe has been announced

— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) April 3, 2017

To be fair, no one from Insomniac is saying “Spider-Man on PS4 isn’t coming out in 2017.” What they’re saying is they haven’t announced it one way or the other, which is typical for news like this. The release date announcement for a major game is a huge part of the marketing cycle, and given that Sony, Marvel and Insomniac all have a stake in this one it’s doubtful anyone would casually reveal it unless it was a legitimate accident or simple slip of the tongue.

Michael Rougeau
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Mike Rougeau is a journalist and writer who lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and two dogs. He specializes in video…
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 fixes one of its predecessor’s biggest flaws
Venom perched on a rooftop.

Insomniac Games has always had a penchant for silky smooth controls, and while Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 doesn’t make any drastic changes to gameplay, the new Symbiote and Bioelectric abilities give both heroes (Peter Parker and Miles Morales) more options when taking on groups of enemies. Both Spider-Men are a joy to play as in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Traversal has also seen minor, but helpful improvements, with the addition of web swings and the ability to swing around corners, which ensure that almost no roadblocks to movement exist while playing as a Spider-Man.

That’s why I was surprised that some of the most memorable moments of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 for me were moments where I wasn’t in control of Peter or Miles -- and I’m not just referring to the sequences where I controlled a drone or Spider-Bot. Some of the weakest parts of the first Marvel’s Spider-Man were the ones where I wasn't controlling the titular hero. That’s not the case in this sequel, though, making that one place where Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is a clear, drastic improvement over its predecessor.

Read more
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 lets its villains evolve in ways comics never could
Mysterio in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2, like the best Spider-Man stories, leaves a lasting impact on its characters. In comics, events like Death of Gwen Stacy, the corruption of Peter with the symbiote, Peter's marriage to MJ, and the reveal of his identity during Civil War left a mark on both the web-slinger and readers because they were character-driven moments that felt like they would change Spider-Man forever. Not all of these moments were actually allowed to do that, though. To maintain a brand identity and accommodate an ever-revolving door of writers, Marvel Comics always tries to get Spider-Man back to a status quo after radical changes.

Most infamously, One More Day undid Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s marriage and the fact that people knew Spider-Man’s identity after Civil War. Although there are still plenty of excellent Spider-Man stories coming out to this day, personal stories with a feeling of permanence are rare unless the comic is set in an alternate universe like the excellent Spider-Man: Life Story.

Read more
What is the code to the Lizard’s lab in Spider-Man 2?
Spider man pressing keys on a tablet.

Dr. Connors, aka The Lizard, is forced back into his reptile state after Kraven injects him with his old serum in Marvel's Spider-Man 2. This would be bad enough, but he's also the only one who knows the truth about the symbiote and how to potentially get it off of Peter. Before that can happen, you need to track him down and inject him with the cure, and your search begins at his home in Queens. While exploring Connors' home, you discover that he had his own laboratory built underneath it for his experiments. Naturally, he wanted to keep this secret and put a passcode on the entrance. There's a small puzzle to uncover the code, and this isn't a puzzle you can skip. Here's how to open the lab.
How to open the Lizard's lab

After exploring Connors' home and finding the panel to the lab, you will see a screen with four colored panels with one to four dots on each in order. Each one plays a tone, so the code is asking you to find the right musical tone. The clue here is the sticker of the barn on the upper right. If you visited the baby's room on the upper floor, you will have heard the Old MacDonald song when interacting with a toy in the room. That's the tone you need to recreate. The correct order to press the keys is 4,4,4,1.

Read more