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- Insomniac has established itself as a top-tier developer, primarily known for the Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise.
- Despite the team’s success with superhero games, Insomniac’s focus on Marvel projects limits its creativity.
- As such, the studio isn’t able to focus on its other IPs, sidelining franchises that deserve more attention.
Insomniac Games has cemented itself as one of the best gaming studios recently, having made the best Spider-Man titles. The developer is currently part of PlayStation Studios and creates exclusive first-party titles for them.
While this team has worked on other games, such as Ratchet & Clank and Spyro, it has become best known for 2018’s Marvel Spider-Man, which arguably saved this character’s gaming reputation.
As such, the developer’s name is associated with superheroes today. Currently, this team is working on other Marvel IPs, such as Marvel’s Wolverine, slated to release in the next two years, and an X-Men game, reportedly set for a 2030 release date.
Insomniac is currently busy with its Marvel releases, but I think the team is wasting its potential. Its work goes way beyond superhero IPs, and it needs to work on original IPs just as it did in the past.
Why it matters: Gaming is all about creativity and passion. Forcing a team to stick to a limited set of options can harm this creativity and ultimately lower the quality of the final output.
Limited Creativity And Output
Using existing source material to make games isn’t that innovative and productive if a developer does it all over again. Sure, the result was superb with Spider-Man, but overall, creating more and more Marvel adaptations would limit the team’s creativity and output.
Just take this for instance: since 2018, we’ve had a remastered version of Spider-Man, the Miles Morales spin-off, and last year’s smash hit Spider-Man 2. If this isn’t too much Spider-Man, a Venom spin-off is expected to launch next year.
Marvel’s Wolverine will be the developer’s next big AAA production. From there, the studio is expected to focus on more Marvel projects, so there is no time left to focus on older or original IPs.
What About The Studio’s Other IPs?
Aside from Marvel adaptations, the team is best known for the Ratchet & Clank series and Sunset Overdrive. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is the only AAA release from the studio over the last six years that isn’t related to Marvel.
However, with leaks practically confirming that Insomniac will have its hands too full with Marvel in the future, Ratchet & Clank might not even get more attention anytime soon. Even Sunset Overdrive, which I believe is a very underrated gem and everyone should check out, has been completely forgotten at this point.
A sequel to Sunset Overdrive was previously considered, but it was canceled in favor of Spider-Man. A PS5 port was also considered but ruled out in favor of Wolverine. Going even further back, the Resistance series showed how the developer was proficient in first-person shooter gameplay.
For those not familiar, Resistance is a first-person shooter set in the 1950s following an Alien invasion. The game had enough potential to rival Call of Duty, and I have no reason to believe that it wouldn’t absolutely shine with modern hardware today.
The game had many unique concepts bolstered by an amazing art style and gameplay. Over the years, the Resistance series has formed a cult following demanding a remake, but all they can do is hope for a miracle.
Perhaps my biggest regret is that we won’t see such new projects from Insomniac now. I never thought of this studio as one that would produce high-quality AAA projects. Instead, the team was always willing to take risks and tackle creative yet compelling concepts.
With Marvel now dictating the developer’s future, I sadly think the old Insomniac is gone forever.
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[News Reporter]
Shaheer is currently pursuing a Business degree while also working as a part-time Content Writer. With his deep passion for both writing and video games, he has seamlessly transitioned into a role as a Journalist. Over the past two years, Shaheer has contributed as a freelancer to various websites and landed positions on acclaimed platforms like Gamerant. Currently, his role at Tech4gamers is as a Features Writer, but he also covers News occasionally. Shaheer’s favorite gaming franchises are Assassin’s Creed and the God of War series.
Get In Touch: shaheer@tech4gamers.com
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