Marvel's Spider-Man 2: everything we know about the long-awaited PS5 sequel

Sony and Insomniac Games have announced that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is currently being developed exclusively for the PS5 and we couldn't be more excited. We'll have to wait a little while though as the sequel to the hugely popular Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4 and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales will launch in 2023.

We don’t yet know much about the upcoming Spider-Man game, but the brief trailer shown off during the 2021 PlayStation Showcase manages to tease quite a bit for us. Both Miles Morales and Peter Parker look set to return in the game and they’ll have a brand new villain to face off against too – the terrifying Venom. Beyond that, we also have a release window of 2023.

While that may not seem like a lot there's already plenty for us to get theorizing about (including an ominous voiceover that talks during the teaser) and it's safe to say that 2023 can't come soon enough for us.

Read on for our analysis of everything we currently know about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and for what we want to see when the game finally comes to PS5.

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Marvel's Spider-Man 2: cut to the chase

What is it? The sequel to the critically acclaimed Marvel's Spider-Man
When can I play it? 2023
What can I play it on? PS5

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 release date

PlayStation Showcase — (Image credit: Sony)

We’ll be waiting a while for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 to come to the PS5, as the game has a confirmed release of 2023 – and that assumes it isn’t delayed at all.

Delays are definitely possible as Insomniac is also developing Marvel's Wolverine right now. If that game hits any bumps in the road it could have a knock-on effect on Spider-Man’s release too.

Right now we imagine Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will have a late 2023 release date to give it plenty of time to get ready, but given that we have very little idea how far into production it is right now that’s pure speculation on our part.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 trailer

We got our first reveal trailer for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 at the PlayStation Showcase and the roughly one and half minutes of footage gives us a fair amount of details. For one we see both Peter Parker and Miles Morales taking swings at goons suggesting we may get to play as both Spider-Men this time around.

At the very end, we got a surprise appearance of Venom – an outer-world symbiote with a passion for violence who is voiced by Candyman's Tony Todd – and so they’ll most likely be one of the game’s main villains.

Unfortunately, there was no gameplay to analyze, but we briefly see a shot of Peter getting a power surge with his Iron Spider arms, suggesting suit powers may be making a return.

We also hear an ominous voice talking over the trailer suggesting Peter and Miles will have yet another villain to face off against. Based on their speech about looking for a challenge and formidable opponent we’d put our money on it being Kraven the Hunter – a classic Spider-Man villain with a similar attitude towards the prey he seeks out in the comics.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 news and rumors

It will be a darker sequel like Empire Strikes Back
It sounds like we really are getting the darker Spider-Man game we all wanted. During an appearance on the This Week in Marvel Podcast, Marvel’s Creative Vice President Bill Rosemann explained that “if the first Spider-Man game was Star Wars [A New Hope], Spider-Man 2 is kind of our Empire [Strikes Back]. It gets a little darker.”

This certainly makes us happy here at TechRadar as it hopefully means Insomniac's Spider-Man will remain its own distinct version rather than an imitation of the more family-friendly version we're used to in the MCU.

Horror movie star will play Venom
Taking to the official PlayStation Blog after the PlayStation Showcase 2021, Insomniac Games revealed that horror movie star Tony Todd (who portrays Candyman in the original series of the same name) will voice Venom.

Todd makes a perfect choice for Venom and is sure to deliver a sinister, guttural voice that’ll have us hiding behind the couch whenever Venom is on-screen. His casting also backs up our hope that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 takes on a more horror-themed tone so we’re especially delighted to hear of his involvement.

Speaking of voice actors, Yuri Lowenthal and Nadji Jeter will reprise their roles as Peter and Miles respectively.

Exclusive to PS5
Insomniac has confirmed that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be exclusive to the PS5. By 2023 the new Sony console will have been out for a few years so it makes sense that we won’t be seeing many cross-platform titles by that point. So if you’re still stuck with a last-gen device you’ll want to upgrade soon.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: what we want to see

Marvel’s Spider-Men
The trailer seems to suggest we’ll be playing as both Miles and Peter, and the ending of Miles’ solo game would back that up but we don’t yet know for sure. We certainly hope we do get to play as both Spider-Men though, as it would give Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 way more story and gameplay options (and give us twice the web-slinging action).

The Spider-Duo are seen performing combo moves during the PlayStation Showcase 2021 teaser, which indicates we might be able to play as both at the same time at various points in the game, but given that it was all just a cinematic there’s no way to know for sure.

A scarier side of Spider-Man
With Venom and (potentially) Kraven the Hunter making an appearance in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Insomniac looks to be gearing its story towards the scarier villains in Spider-Man’s rogue’s gallery.

We hope Insomniac delves even deeper into this and includes several other frightening characters like the Lizard, Morbius (or other Marvel vampires like Morlun), and maybe even the Jackal. We wouldn’t be surprised if Green Goblin or Hob Goblin showed up either.

Curt Conners, the human scientist who transforms into the Lizard, already appeared in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales suggesting his villainous side could very well show up in the sequel. The same is true of Norman Osborn who was a key character in the first Marvel’s Spider-Man game so it might not be long before he becomes the Green Goblin.

Based on the ending of Marvel’s Spider-Man’s DLC, it looks like Venom could be Harry Osborn (Norma's son) in this series. If Harry befalls some terrible fate - seemingly at the hands of Spider-Man – that could be what drives Norman Osborn to become a villain.

We’ll admit that Jackal and Morlun make a lot less sense, as they tie into much longer stories like Spider-Man’s Clone Saga and Spider-Verse that would be deserving of their own dedicated game, but we’ll have to wait and see.

A world beyond New York
While Spider-Man is known for being an NYC hero, we'd like to see our wall-crawler take a trip to new locations in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 before the city starts to feel stale. While the teaser seems to suggest we'll definitely be in a New York-like city at some points, thanks to the PS5's SSD storage and power Insomniac would be able to load in other large locations to explore too.

One option - especially if they take the horror route - could be to include a character like Doctor Strange who could transport us into fearsome realms, or we might see our heroes go on the run if they find Kraven the Hunter too deadly a threat to handle. Heck, we could even go to visit Symkaria the home of Silver Sable, and a location that Peter was visiting in Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

New York definitely works great as a setting for Spider-Man games thanks to its looming skyscrapers that are perfect for web-swinging, but given that it's already featured in both of Insomniac's previous titles we're worried it'll grow boring eventually.