Insomniac Games, The Studio Behind "Spider-Man," Fell Victim To A HUGE Hack, Leading To The Release Of "Wolverine" Game Footage As Well As Company Emails And Private Employee Data
Almost a decade after the Sony leak, we have another major breach of privacy, this time in the video game universe. Insomniac games, which has been on a roll lately, had someone leak over a terabyte of information online yesterday. Some of it is pretty cool, including Insomniac's entire game slate until 2032 and some unfinished footage from the upcoming Wolverine game. That’s pretty dope; what isn’t dope is that what was also released was certain employees' personal information, including company emails. Rhysida, a newly formed ransomware gang, leaked the information after initially asking for 2 million dollars.
I wish I was more qualified to talk about the espionage part, but what insane story. Until about 10 minutes ago, I didn't know that "ransomware" was even a thing. It sucks that this happened to Insomniac, but as somebody who is a massive fan of what they've done with their Spider-Man games, I'm definitely excited to see what Insomniac can do with Wolverine. I never played it, but I know many people who said that the video game version of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" was actually better than the movie. The footage that was released was very, very early in the game's development. My excitement remains high, but I'm slightly disappointed by this early footage.
Based on what I've been reading online, people seem to have the same problem with this footage that I do. It just looks like a Spider-Man game with Wolverine in it. My opinion will hopefully change when we get to the parts in the game where Wolverine is cutting people to pieces with iron claws, but just because Spider-Man may have said the precedent for modern superhero games, doesn't mean that I want every game to try to copy that mold. It's very similar to what the Arkham games did for video games in the early 2010s. So many games over the next decade did what they could to copy that combat system because it was just so goddamn cool. In some instances, imitation was the best form of flattery; in some cases, it felt lazy.
This leak also revealed that we're going to be getting a Venom game in 2025. A few months ago, I was completely done with the character of Venom, but the way they used him in the new Spider-Man game was so damn cool that I'm looking forward to playing that game. It's sad that we have to wait until 2026 to play Wolverine and even sadder that we will have to wait until 2028 for "Spider-Man 3." Why can't games just be like movies and release their trailers a year before they come out? We got the original teaser for the Wolverine game in 2021. Don't tease me like that, bro.
I have no idea if justice will be served here. I have zero understanding of Internet law if that's even a thing. I'm not going to share any of the personal info that was leaked in thsi hack. I feel bad for those hard-working people who had part of their personal lives exposed like this, but there is something unique about when movies or games give us a deep glimpse into the future like this. Some of the stuff feels like it's a lifetime away. Will I make it to see the next Spider-Man game? Only time will tell.