A new report out of the recent Microsoft/Sony debate over the former's acquisition of Activision Blizzard may have revealed the release window for Marvel's Wolverine.
A document submitted by Microsoft to the CMS to refute Sony's arguments to block its acquisition of Call of Duty developer Activision Blizzard revealed a list of 2023 game releases. A brief paragraph on page 10 of the 33-page document states, "PlayStation also has a spate of first- and third-party exclusive titles lined up for launch in 2023, including Spider-Man 2, Wolverine, Horizon, Final Fantasy XVI and Forspoken." This would indicate Marvel's Wolverine might come to PlayStation 5's sometime in the next year, though it's unclear what part of 2023 that might be.
Insomniac's Marvel Games
Insomniac announced Marvel's Wolverine with a brief teaser trailer during a PlayStation Showcase livestream in September 2021. Little remains known about the title, except that it reportedly contains "mature" themes and will release exclusively on PlayStation 5. The brief trailer shows Logan sitting in The Princess Bar while several men lay wounded in the torn-up pub. Despite its short length, Marvel's Wolverine's trailer reportedly contains Easter eggs to figures from the comics and even the game's release date.
One such Easter egg includes a reference to the Hulk. In the back of the bar, viewers can just make out a license plate that reads "HLK 181." This references 1974's The Incredible Hulk #181, written by Len Wein and penciled by Herb Trimpe. The comic book also happened to feature the debut of Wolverine.
Ryan Schneider, Head of Franchise Strategy & Studio Relations at Insomniac, spoke a little about the work and consideration that went into deciding to make a Wolverine game. "Back when we were working on Marvel's Spider-Man, there would be times where all of us—Insomniac, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Marvel—would brainstorm together about the future beyond the web-slinger. And even in those early discussions, Wolverine continually came up as the character we'd be really stoked to work on together. Fast-forward a couple years and we're suddenly standing in front of Sony Interactive Entertainment and Marvel formally pitching a PlayStation 5 game starring the adamantium-clawed Mutant! (Since you just saw the announce teaser, we can confirm that the pitch seemed to go pretty well.)"
Whether Marvel's Wolverine launches in 2023 or during what part of the financial quarter remains unconfirmed.
Source: Microsoft