Marvel’s Wolverine Hands-On Preview Reveals Story, Combat Details Ahead of Launch

Marvel’s Wolverine got its first hands-on previews this week, with journalists visiting Insomniac Games’ studio on August 13 to play through story, combat, and exploration sections roughly a month before the game’s September 15 release. The preview event capped off what PlayStation itself called a big week for the game, following a separate announcement of PS5 hardware and accessories tied to the release.

Insomniac’s PlayStation 5 exclusive follows Logan as he teams up with Mystique and Sabretooth to take down anti-mutant billionaire Trask, with Jean Grey also confirmed as part of the story following a trailer shown at San Diego Comic-Con.

What We Know From the Hands-On Preview

The August 13 preview session gave outlets an extended look at how the game handles as a single-player, narrative-driven action-adventure title that is explicitly not open world, according to PlayStation’s own game page. Insomniac is leaning into a darker, heavier tone than its Spider-Man games, built around what the studio describes as Logan’s berserker nature and the emotional weight of a character who has outlived nearly everyone close to him.

Images: Marvel

Logan remains the only playable hero throughout the story, even with Jean Grey now confirmed among the supporting cast alongside Mystique and Sabretooth. Insomniac has also confirmed the physical PS5 edition will ship with an actual disc in the box, a detail the studio addressed directly after other major upcoming releases, including Grand Theft Auto 6, moved to code-only physical editions instead.

The game’s full soundtrack releases separately on August 28, ahead of the game itself, giving fans a chance to hear the score before launch. The game is developed by Insomniac Games, the studio behind Marvel’s Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, in collaboration with Marvel Games and Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Why This Preview Matters for Fans

The game has had an unusually long and difficult road to release. First announced as being in early development back at September 2021’s PlayStation Showcase, the project spent years largely out of public view before a December 2023 ransomware attack on Insomniac briefly exposed development assets and story details without the studio’s consent. Insomniac confirmed at the time that the breach wouldn’t affect the game’s development plans, and the studio later replaced original directors Horton and Christian with Marcus Smith and Mike Daly by October 2024.

That same leaked data also revealed the game is planned as the first entry in an X-Men trilogy, mirroring how Insomniac built out the Spider-Man series across multiple games. With a firm release date now set and hands-on previews already circulating, this stands as one of the clearest signals yet that the project has moved past its rocky development history and into its final stretch before launch.

What’s Next

With the soundtrack arriving August 28 and the game itself launching September 15, the next few weeks should bring a steady stream of additional marketing, including further gameplay breakdowns and possibly a launch trailer, as Insomniac and Sony build toward release.

Frequently Asked Questions