(Credit: Insomniac Games)
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Sony's latest State of Play showcase presented a handful of upcoming PlayStation 5 games. It featured Saros, the follow-up to Returnal; Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, which is another Xbox game jumping ship to the rival console; and Deus Ex and Dynasty Warriors 3, two classics receiving remasters. However, the showcase's major announcement was a closer look at Marvel's Wolverine, Sony's upcoming PS5 blockbuster slated for 2026. There's still much more to learn about how the game plays, but Wolverine is the latest sign that PlayStation is the platform for AAA, interconnected, Marvel-based superheroics. A new Marvel gaming universe has arrived, and it's only on PS5.
But First—What's in the Wolverine Trailer?
Unless you explored the online leaks, the only thing you may have known about Marvel's Wolverine before the trailer is that it exists and is being developed by Insomniac Games. The trailer that debuted at State of Play finally showed off Marvel's Wolverine in action—a game announced in 2021.
In the few combat snippets, Logan does what he does best: fight fierce foes in various locales, including Madripoor, the famous Marvel haunt. Other X-Men characters make cameos in the trailer, such as Mystique, Omega Red, and a wrecked Sentinel.
After the extremely R-rated Deadpool and Wolverine movie earned more than a billion dollars, it shouldn't be too surprising that Marvel's Wolverine is filled with violent action, true to the character's comic book roots. Wolverine uses his adamantium claws to slaughter with abandon, severing limbs and spilling blood. In the trailer, the developers discuss how they had to create new technologies to render the carnage. It harkens back to the surprisingly gory X-Men Origins: Wolverine tie-in developed by Raven Software in 2009.
The trailer also reveals other tidbits, like actor Liam McIntyre (Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Spartacus) playing Wolverine (he's handling the motion capture and voice work). Sony says it will reveal more about Marvel's Wolverine next spring and that the game launches in the fall of 2026. The upcoming superhero game will be PlayStation 5's major exclusive next holiday season, but it's also just one piece of Sony's growing Marvel gaming empire.
Wolverine and Spider-Man Kick Off the PlayStation Game Universe
Beyond Wolverine, Sony and Marvel are intimately connected in many ways, notably on the film front. It's only thanks to constant renegotiations that Spider-Man is allowed to stay in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But whereas Sony's Marvel movie options are limited due to licensing (remember Morbius?), its video game division is embracing the storied comic book brand big-time.
After all, developer Insomniac has already created multiple acclaimed, console-exclusive Marvel video games for the PlayStation 5: Marvel's Spider-Man, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2. In fact, Wolverine will follow that same continuity, creating a Marvel Video Game Universe on PlayStation 5.
First-party PlayStation releases absolutely want to be the gaming equivalent of blockbusters and prestige drama, even if the obsession with cinema sometimes comes at the expense of actually playing the games. But superheroes perfectly fit this approach, combining spectacular large-scale thrills with wacky powers that can inspire creative gameplay. After Wolverine, it wouldn't be surprising if Insomniac tackled Venom or other X-Men characters to make its universe even larger.
What's Next for Marvel on PlayStation?
Wolverine isn't the only Sony Marvel game coming in 2026. One of this year's most exciting reveals, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls (set in its own reimagined universe), provides a new vision for tag-team Marvel fighting games. If you don’t like Wolverine’s overly realistic aesthetic, Marvel Tokon has a beautiful living comic book art style with a heavy dose of anime, thanks to developer Arc System Works. It's published by Sony, but the game is also coming to PC along with PlayStation 5, as a goodwill gesture to the fighting game community that has loved Marvel since the '90s. Tokon isn't in continuity with the Wolverine and Spider-Man games, but it's another strong Marvel game in the PlayStation library.
Obviously, Marvel games will continue to be released on multiple platforms. I played Spider-Man 2 on my PS5, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 on my Nintendo Switch, Midnight Suns on my Xbox, Marvel Rivals on my PC, and Marvel Snap on my phone. In theory, Microsoft is still cooking up its own Blade game with Arkane, and a nifty superhero beat 'em up, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, is launching on everything.
But by locking down Spider-Man and Wolverine, forming a shared universe built off of arguably Marvel’s biggest characters, Sony is loudly announcing that if you're a console gamer who lives by the "Make Mine Marvel" creed, you must make it PlayStation.