Wolverine And Spider-Man Game Leaks Break The Internet

Contains potential spoilers for "Marvel's Wolverine."

Last week, Insomniac Games was informed of a massive breach by a ransomware group known as Rhysida. The group claimed to have accessed an untold number of the company's internal documents, threatening to release them online unless Insomniac paid up. Now, millions of files have been uploaded to the internet, including personal info from Insomniac employees, financial data, and footage from the studio's hotly anticipated "Wolverine" game. Additionally, the hackers have revealed Insomniac Games' entire planned Marvel slate for the next several years, including the future of its smash hit "Spider-Man" series. The reaction of the online community has been a mixture of horror and amazement in almost equal measure. For every comment celebrating the reveal of a "Venom" game in early development, others are mourning the fact that Insomniac's planned rollout has been taken from the developer.

"Marvel's Wolverine" is most definitely the project that has seen the most leaks at this point in time. The leaked information has taken several forms, including a detailed plot breakdown, early test footage, and lengthy internal documents describing the gameplay in detail. Wolverine will be able to use his signature claws for traversal and combat, and his healing factor from the comics will be present, meaning Logan can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. As the game progresses, players will be able to unlock new suits and abilities (including the infamous "hot claws" power he briefly utilized in the comics), as well as employ Wolverine's enhanced senses to anticipate danger in stealth sequences. Logan even goes in for a bit of detective work by sniffing around a crime scene — and possibly piecing together some of his stolen memories. That's not all, though, and fans have taken to sifting through every bit of info they can find.

In addition to design documents and rough gameplay footage, a seemingly accurate cast breakdown of "Marvel's Wolverine" has also leaked online, revealing a number of veteran voice actors filling major Marvel Comics roles. Though some of these plans may have changed during the time that "Wolverine" has been in development, fans of the "X-Men" comics will be pleased to see heavy hitters like Lady Deathstrike, Sabretooth, and Mister Sinister among this roster of villains. Additionally, Jean Grey will be a major character in the game's narrative, which will no doubt be exciting for the fans who still 'ship them after all these years. The plot of the game sends the pair on a globe-trotting revenge mission, all the while uncovering the mysteries of Logan's past and how he became the living weapon he is today.

The leaks also included a roadmap for Insomniac's future Marvel projects, though exact plot and character details on these games are still elusive. The most exciting of these is most likely the project that fans have been hoping for: Named either "Marvel's Venom" or "Venom: Lethal Protector," this spin-off is poised to be a 10-12 hour campaign in the vein of "Spider-Man: Miles Morales." This game will seemingly follow a new incarnation of Venom in a fight against Carnage and other Spider-threats. Following that game's 2025 release, Insomniac plans to treat fans to "Wolverine" in 2026, then "Marvel's Spider-Man 3" in 2028. Some leaks suggest "Spider-Man 3" might take the Spider-Verse route and introduce variant Spider-heroes from other dimensions, but this is mostly conjecture at this point. Lastly, Wolverine is expected to come howling back onto the scene when a full-fledged "X-Men" game launches in 2030. Additionally, Insomniac has serious aims at incorporating online multiplayer for its "Spider-Man" and "X-Men" projects, but details surrounding that element remain scarce.

These leaks have more or less broken the internet in the last several hours, as fans have shared their thoughts on the in-development titles and Insomniac's ambitious Marvel slate. The conversations have been a mix of excitement and sadness, as most fans seem to recognize what a blow this hack must have been for the developers working on these titles. @BGarcN2 on X (formerly Twitter) summed things up nicely by saying, "First off, my condolences to the entire Insomniac team for getting all their hard work leaked ... second, y'all are f***ing cooking." Others sidestepped the leaks altogether and simply lambasted the hackers for trying to sell personal information from Insomniac employees. As news of the hack spreads, other developers of note are showing their support for the people at Insomniac Games, including Remedy Entertainment:

Our sympathies to @insomniacgames and all the affected team members. After all the effort and dedication they have poured into their games, they didn't deserve this. No one does. The hackers also leaked employee's personal information, which is truly disgraceful and shameful.

— Remedy Entertainment (@remedygames) December 19, 2023

Needless to say, Insomniac Games will not be pleased about these leaks making their way onto the internet. This arrives just days after major late-game spoilers for "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League" were uploaded to social media, and just a couple of weeks after the "Grand Theft Auto 6" trailer was likewise leaked. Despite the excitement surrounding these new reveals, the "Wolverine" leaks are the latest (and most extensive) part of a sinister trend. The sad truth is that it's becoming nearly impossible for developers to keep their files safe from bad actors, and that much more than cool reveals are at stake. It remains to be seen if Insomniac's upcoming projects might suffer a similar frustrating fate.