Marvel's Spider-Man, or simply Spider-Man, is an developed by and published by for the , based on the superhero. Released worldwide on September 7, 2018, it is the first licensed game developed by Insomniac. The game tells a new story about Spider-Man that is not tied to an existing comic book, video game, or film, and covers both the Peter Parker and Spider-Man aspects of the character. Critics called it one of the best superhero games ever made, praising its gameplay, particularly the combat and web-swinging mechanics, graphics, narrative, characterization, and design of , though felt it lacked innovation in its open-world design. The game became a commercial success, selling 3. Spider-Man is an game set in an modern-day and played from a. It features combat systems such as aerial combat, reflexes, web-shooting, and finishing moves. The player is able to use Spider-Man's abilities such as web slinging and wall-crawling as well as other gameplay elements such as the ability to traverse using , and the crafting and use of gadgets and alternative suits with special powers. Environmental combat, and are also featured in the game. Peter Parker outside of his Spider-Man identity , , and are also playable in certain parts of the game. Peter's sections often involve solving puzzles, while Mary Jane's and Miles' segments involve using stealth to get to certain positions. Characters Spider-Man features a large ensemble cast of characters from the history of Spider-Man comics. Employing a secret identity, Parker uses these abilities to protect the citizens of New York City as the superhero Spider-Man. Eight years into his superhero career, Parker has become an experienced and masterful crime fighter, but struggles to balance his superhero and personal lives. He is aided in his fight by intrepid reporter , his ex-girlfriend, and NYPD Captain. In his civilian life, Parker is supported by his who volunteers at the F. Parker is employed by his friend and mentor, the respected scientist Dr. Spider-Man's adventure brings him into contact with other characters, including and his parents, NYPD Officer Russell Richardson and Jacqueline Pinol , CEO and New York mayor , and Nichole Elise , leader of the private military company Sable International. Spider-Man's mission to protect the city brings him into conflict with several supervillains. The story opens with Spider-Man taking down his longtime foe , the Kingpin of crime in New York. Fisk is sent to prison, but warns that he was the only person maintaining order in the city. Fisk's absence gives rise to a supernaturally powered, demonic-mask wearing gang called the Demons who begin carving up the city for the powerful Mr. Negative, who can corrupt people through his touch. Spider-Man must also confront , , , , , , , and Corey Jones. Several other characters—including Parker's and Watson's childhood friend , who has disappeared on a long European holiday, and anti-Spider-Man podcast host Darin de Paul have voice roles in the main game. The game features several references to the Marvel Comics universe, including , the , the , and Alias Investigations. The game's downloadable content features appearances by master-thief who has a voice-only role in the main game , and , leader of the crime family. Plot Parker is late for work helping Octavius demonstrate his advanced prosthetic limbs for his government financiers, who are left concerned by the demonstration's failure. Meanwhile, the Demons begin seizing Fisk's illicit resources and assets. Watson investigates an auction of Fisk's goods which is then attacked by Demons. With Spider-Man, she learns that the Demons are seeking something called Devil's Breath. Spider-Man is able to stop a Demon attack with the aid of Officer Jefferson Davis. Davis is lauded for his heroism at a re-election event for Mayor Osborn attended by Parker, Watson, and Davis' wife and son, Rio and Miles Morales. Osborn receives a call threatening to punish the city for his sins, and flees the event. The Demons then attack, killing Davis and many attendees. Parker witnesses their leader, Martin Li, transforming into an inverted form dubbed Mr. Negative, but he is knocked unconscious before he can intervene. Following the attack, Osborn hires Silver Sablinova and Sable International to supplant the police, and Parker befriends Morales over their loss, and convinces him to volunteer at F. Parker and Octavius continue their research, but Osborn withdraws government funding in an attempt to force Octavius to work for Oscorp. Spider-Man's search for Li uncovers that Devil's Breath is a lethal and virulent bioweapon inadvertently created by Oscorp while developing a cure for genetic diseases at Osborn's behest. Li locates and steals the only sample of Devil's Breath and threatens to release it unless Osborn surrenders to him. Li is foiled by Watson and Spider-Man, Devil's Breath is secured, and Li is incarcerated at the nearby maximum-security prison,. Meanwhile, Octavius obsesses over creating enhanced limbs that exceed the limitations of the human body, creating four mechanical tentacles operated from his back and mentally controlled via neural interface. He reveals to Parker that he is suffering from a that will inevitably immobilize him, and that enhanced limbs will allow him to continue his work when his body fails. Parker warns Octavius that the interface could impact his mind and personality. Octavius continues its use in secret, overcome with anger at Osborn; the pair were once friends who founded the mega-corporation before Octavius left due to Osborn's unethical experiments. Spider-Man is drawn to the Raft by a prison break. He learns that some of his greatest enemies—Li, Electro, Vulture, Rhino, and Scorpion—have escaped. They subdue Spider-Man and present him to Octavius, now calling himself Doctor Octopus. Octavius warns the beaten Spider-Man to not interfere before retaking the Devil's Breath and releasing it in Times Square, causing a mass outbreak; Aunt May is among those infected. New York descends into chaos while Octavius and his subordinates attack Osborn's properties. Osborn declares martial law and blames Spider-Man for the incident, branding him a fugitive. Spider-Man gradually takes back the city, defeating Electro, Vulture, Rhino, and Scorpion. Watson infiltrates Osborn's penthouse and learns that Devil's Breath was developed to cure Osborn's terminally ill son Harry. As a child, Li was a test subject for the cure, gaining his abilities in an explosion of energy that also killed his parents and caused both his hatred for Osborn and the split between Osborn and Octavius. She also learns that an antidote exists and Li has taken it. Spider-Man defeats Li and recovers the antidote, but Octavius arrives, brutalizes Spider-Man, and escapes with both it and Osborn. While Spider-Man recovers, Morales is bitten by an Oscorp genetically modified spider that escaped on Watson. Wounded, Parker builds himself an armored suit and confronts Octavius atop Oscorp, liberating Osborn. Octavius reveals that he has known Parker's secret identity, and the two battle. Spider-Man recovers the antidote and defeats Octavius; his artificial limbs are removed and he is sent to the Raft. Parker is faced with using the limited antidote to save a near-death May or allowing doctors to use it as a chemical base to develop enough cure for everyone; he chooses to save everyone. Before dying, May reveals that she knows he is Spider-Man and that she is proud of him. Three months later, New York has returned to normal, Osborn has resigned as mayor in disgrace, and Parker and Watson rekindle their relationship. Morales reveals to Parker that he has gained spider-like powers, prompting Parker to reveal his own. Osborn enters a secret laboratory where Harry is kept in stasis with a black web-like substance. As Osborn places his hand on the tank, the substance reacts and copies him. Sony discussed with Insomniac Games which Marvel property they wished to adapt, and both agreed on Spider-Man. The game was the first licensed game developed by Insomniac Games after 22 years of developing original properties, such as , , and. Bryan Intihar, the producer of and former community manager of Insomniac Games, served as the lead creative director, with Ryan Smith serving as game director. The game uses a modified version of the game engine first used in Sunset Overdrive. The game features the largest production team for an Insomniac game. The game was announced during Sony's press conference on June 13. In April 2017, Ryan Penagos, vice president and executive editor of Marvel Digital Media, stated that the game would be released in 2017. At Sony's conference, the first gameplay demo was shown and it was announced that the game would be released in 2018. The game on July 30, 2018, and was released on September 7, 2018. In addition to the special edition, a limited edition bundle with the game was released on the same day. In early 2015, Lowenthal gained the role after some initial pushback within Insomniac due to him voicing one of the main playable characters for Insomniac's most recently released game at the time, Sunset Overdrive, but ultimately the game's lead writer Jon Paquette convinced the studio to cast him in the role due to his trust in Lowenthal's acting ability. Lowenthal worked with two stunt people throughout the game's development. Jon Paquette, , Ben Arfmann, and wrote the game's script, while composed its original score. A promotional booth of the game at Spider-Man was released worldwide on September 7, 2018, exclusively for. Those who pre-ordered the game were given access to some in-game unlockable features from the start of the game, including alternative costumes Spider-Punk, Iron Spider, and the Velocity Suit , skill points to unlock abilities, and the spider-drone, as well as a Spider-Man theme featuring artwork by comic book artist , and a user avatar for the PlayStation software. In addition to the standard game, special versions were also made available. The Collector's Edition includes The City that Never Sleeps DLC, a custom steelbook case for the game, an artbook containing concept and unreleased art, a white spider sticker, and a Spider-Man statue created by Gentle Giant. Sony also released a limited-edition red bearing the Spider-Man emblem and including the standard version of the game. The game has been referenced or promoted in various other media. PlayStation marketing head Eric Lempel said that it was among the most expensive adverts the company had ever ran. In addition, videos were released detailing features of the game narrated by characters like J. In New York City, a subway train was fully converted with Spider-Man marketing materials, including a full advert across the exterior, Spider-Man chairs and posters, and adverts for the Daily Bugle. A prequel novel, Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover, was released on August 21, 2018. Written by David Liss, Hostile Takeover details Spider-Man's conflict with the Kingpin as he attempts to blackmail Mayor Osborn into making him the city financier, making him too important to be taken down for his crimes. As well as charting the end of Parker's and Watson's relationship due to Parker being overprotective, the story also introduces the game's version of , a deaf, female, martial artist who joins forces with Spider-Man, and , a villain given superhuman abilities by Oscorp, whom Kingpin employs to impersonate Spider-Man and smear his reputation. The game's Spider-Man appears in the 2018 comic book storyline written by Gage, a sequel to 2014's , which brings together Spider-people from. Spider-Geddon issue 0 released September 26, 2018 follows the Superior Octopus an alternate universe version of Otto Octavius in Peter Parker's body , as he travels to the game's Earth designated Earth-1048 to recruit the game's Spider-Man. The story of Spider-Geddon takes place after the events of the game, and also introduces the Earth-1048 version of. Insomniac artists provided variant comic book covers for the series. The advanced suit created for the game is glimpsed in the background of the second trailer of the upcoming film. Downloadable content A story-based three-episode downloadable content DLC pack is in development for Spider-Man, collectively known as Spider-Man: The City that Never Sleeps. The story follows the return of Spider-Man's ex-girlfriend Black Cat to New York for a heist, which draws him into a conflict with the Maggia crime families. The game received praise for its gameplay, graphics, narrative, and characterization, while being criticized for familiar open-world tropes and lack of innovation. Critics called Spider-Man one of the greatest superhero games ever made. The gameplay mechanics were praised by reviewers, with the web-swinging traversal in particular receiving unanimous acclaim. Reiner found web-swinging was so fun that he never once used the game's fast-travel system. The game's combat was praised for its speed and fluidity while presenting a range of gadgetry and environmental options to execute satisfying attacks. However, Mike Williams of , felt the Arkham comparisons were unfair, writing that the extent and capabilities of the gadgets on offer made it unique to the Arkham series as well as older Spider-Man games. He disliked only the auto-lock system for making it difficult in larger enemy groups to hit the intended target. The game's visuals were also well-received. The story received positive reviews, and was seen as one of the game's highlights. Some critics appreciated Insomniac's decision not to portray an in the game. Reception towards other aspects of the game were generally positive. The game world received criticism. Complaints focused on Spider-Man 's inability to successfully innovate as an open-world game, instead relying on familiar and repetitive tropes found in other free-roaming titles. Harmon noted that he was more tolerant than most for collectibles and side-content, but thought there was still too much of it for him in Spider-Man. Some were disappointed with the game's inclusion of towers that revealed portions of the map and identified waypoints, which had become standard with a number of past open-world games. Sales During its release week, Spider-Man sold more copies than any other previously-released game in 2018, with reporting it was the fastest-selling game in the UK since 2017's. Spider-Man became the fastest-selling video game based on the titular character, as well as the fastest-selling Marvel-branded video game of all time. The game went on to sell 3. Upon launch, Spider-Man sold 125,154 physical retail copies in Japan, reaching the number one spot on the all-format sales charts by the third week it had remained in that position and sold a total of 244,051 units. The game also became one of the best-selling Western-developed PlayStation 4 titles in Japan surpassed only by and and the best-selling Western-developed, Sony-funded title since 1998's for the. Spider-Man also topped the sales charts in both North America and the UK upon release, although during its second month dropped to second place in the UK after being beaten by. 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