Leaks have spread around recently around a now canceled Spider-Man multiplayer game called Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Great Web. A live-service superhero project building upon Insomniac Games’ universe.
Although it would be loosely tied to the games, it would be using the gameplay everyone knows and loves for its multiplayer endeavors.
With the lukewarm reception from Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, what could have been if Rocksteady Studios took these measures to make their live-service superhero project more appealing and fun for players?
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League missed the mark by not offering the premium live-service experience to its players all while charging $70 for the product.
On the flip side, many are scrambling and hoping for PlayStation and Insomniac Games to bring back Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Great Web. Will they listen though?
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Walked, So Spider-Man: The Great Web Can Run
Rocksteady’s newest project has been a failure all things considered. This was their follow-up game after Batman: Arkham Knight in 2015. That’s nearly 10 years since their last project and they could not deliver on the multiplayer live-service superhero dream.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League failed to capture players in the same way their single-player Batman games did. Possibly due to the head title group being nowhere near as recognizable as the caped crusader.
Spider-Man is one of the most recognizable superheroes of all time. This helps in selling the game, but with Insomniac Games developing the project, that makes it easier to get players in on the idea of a live-service multiplayer Spider-Man game. The Great Web was an opportunity to end the curse of bad live-service superhero games.
What Killed Suicide Squad and Why Spider-Man Had Hope?
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was going to be a hard sell with the amount of delays and bad press surrounding the title before launch. Many people made up their minds when leaks of a Battle Pass and other live-service features came to light.
When Marvel’s Avengers by Crystal Dynamics bombed in 2020, it was clear the landscape for a live-service superhero game was not yet ready. Hence, why many players were upset by Rocksteady’s direction with Suicide Squad instead of making it a story-based action-adventure title. Multiplayer can still be a feature but the live-service tech was not a selling point.
The Great Web, albeit canceled, had players excited but now sad that this will never become a reality. Insomniac Games have done a fantastic job building up their Spider-Man universe and tightening up the gameplay mechanics in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Add multiplayer into the mix, a $40 price tag, and loosely tying into the main Insomniac Spider-Man universe, you have a money maker right there.
No official word as to why Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Great Web was shelved, but it’s likely because of PlayStation’s shift away from their massive live-service push and going back to working on single-player experiences.
What do you think of Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Great Web? Would you have played it if it was released? Let us know what you think in the comments!
