Insomniac Games is developing Marvel’s Wolverine, which will be first announced at the PlayStation Showcase in 2021. There haven’t been any updates to the game or its release schedule since launch, but a leadership change has reportedly resulted in a new creative director and game director taking the reins on the project. Brian Horton, who was confirmed as creative director of The Wolverine in 2021, has reportedly left the studio to join the Xbox reboot Perfect Dark in the same role.
Leadership changes at Wolverine
Game Archives reported Wednesday that Horton has not been involved in production on Marvel’s Wolverine since this summer, citing two people familiar with the matter. The PS5 exclusive now has a new creative director, Marcus Smith, a Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) representative confirmed to Game File.
Additionally, Marvel’s Wolverine’s game director chair also has a new owner. Mike Daly has reportedly replaced Cameron Christian. Reports indicate that Christian will remain at Insomniac Games, albeit in a different role. While the reasons for the leadership shake-up were not specified, sources told the publication that the changes stemmed from creative decisions surrounding Wolverine.
Smith and Daley previously served as creative director and game director, respectively, on Insomniac Games’ Ratchet & Clank: Rift, which was released on PS5 in 2021.
Perfect Dark’s new director
Meanwhile, Horton has reportedly been hired as creative director on Xbox’s Perfect Dark. The first-person shooter, currently in development by Microsoft-backed The Initiative and Embracer Group-owned Crystal Dynamics, had the reboot announced at the 2020 Game Awards and received its first gameplay trailer earlier this year at the Xbox Games Showcase in June. Horton previously served as creative director on Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
“Marvel’s Wolverine” will be unveiled at the PlayStation Showcase in 2021 along with “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2”. The game is confirmed to be set on Earth-1048, the same universe as Insomniac’s Spider-Man game.
In December 2023, in-development gameplay footage, storyboards, concept art, plot details, release schedule information, and more details about Marvel’s Wolverine leaked online after Insomniac suffered a massive ransomware attack. The malicious attack also exposed the private information of several Insomniac employees. In addition to gameplay, the leak appears to include a bootable version of Wolverine with a main menu and chapter select titled “Vertical Slice.”
