Insomniac Games

Insomniac Games is an American video game developer based in Burbank, California, founded in 1994 by Ted Price. The studio started as Xtreme Software before rebranding and has spent three decades building some of PlayStation’s most beloved franchises. Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet and Clank, Resistance, and the Marvel’s Spider-Man series all came from Insomniac. Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired the studio in August 2019, making it a PlayStation first-party developer. Marvel’s Wolverine, releasing September 15, 2026, is their next major title.

Spyro the Dragon and the PlayStation Era

Insomniac’s first major franchise was Spyro the Dragon, developed for PlayStation in partnership with Universal Interactive and released in 1998. The game established the studio’s identity around colorful, expansive worlds and accessible platforming, selling over five million copies. Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage followed in 1999 and Spyro: Year of the Dragon in 2000, completing a trilogy that defined the PlayStation platformer era alongside Crash Bandicoot. The IP was later sold and the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, a remaster of all three games, was developed by Toys for Bob and released in 2018.

Ratchet and Clank

After Spyro, Insomniac created Ratchet and Clank, which debuted on PlayStation 2 in November 2002. The franchise combined platforming with an increasingly elaborate arsenal of bizarre weapons and a tone that balanced humor with genuine warmth. The series ran through multiple PlayStation 2 entries, handheld games, and PlayStation 3 titles. Ratchet and Clank (2016) was a reimagining of the original timed to a CGI film, and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart in 2021 was a PlayStation 5 launch showcase title that demonstrated the SSD-driven instant loading the console was built around. It received strong reviews and multiple awards.

Resistance and Multiplatform Work

Resistance: Fall of Man launched alongside PlayStation 3 in November 2006, a first-person shooter set in an alternate 1950s where an alien race called the Chimera has overrun Europe. The game was a PS3 launch title and sold over one million copies. Two sequels followed. Insomniac also developed Sunset Overdrive for Xbox One in 2014 under a publishing agreement with Microsoft, a rare multiplatform departure that was well received but remained a one-off collaboration.

Marvel’s Spider-Man Series

Marvel’s Spider-Man released in September 2018 exclusively for PlayStation 4 and became one of the best-selling PlayStation exclusives ever made, selling over 33 million copies across its lifetime including the remaster. The game’s open-world New York, fluid web-swinging, and narrative that treated Peter Parker as an experienced Spider-Man rather than an origin story distinguished it from previous Spider-Man games. Spider-Man: Miles Morales followed in November 2020 as a shorter standalone title introducing Miles as a playable protagonist alongside Peter. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 released in October 2023 with both Peter and Miles playable and Venom as the main antagonist, selling over 11 million copies in its first year.

Sony Acquisition and Marvel’s Wolverine

Sony acquired Insomniac Games in August 2019 for approximately $229 million, making the studio a PlayStation Studios first-party developer. The acquisition secured one of PlayStation’s most productive and critically consistent studios at a time when Sony was consolidating its first-party portfolio. Marvel’s Wolverine was announced at the PlayStation Showcase in September 2021 and is scheduled for release on September 15, 2026, exclusively on PlayStation 5. Little has been shown beyond the announcement trailer, but the project is being developed by the core Spider-Man team and is described as a standalone Wolverine story.