Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 is set to release exclusively on PlayStation 5 in Fall 2023, and the game's creative director recently shut down fan confusion aboit when it will take place on the timeline compared to the previous title in the series, Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
Sony's recent PlayStation Showcase gave fans the first look at gameplay for Insomniac Games' upcoming Spider-Man 2 game, and many felt like it did not disappoint.
The Showcase revealed that both Kraven the Hunter and the Lizard will be a part of the game's story and also boasted some of the new mechanics that players can take advantage of.
While the first two games in this series focused solely on either Peter Parker or Miles Morales, this entry was confirmed to "continue the journey of both."
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Timeline Confirmed
In an interview with Press Start, Creative Director Brian Intihar for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was asked about when the upcoming game will take place on the timeline in accordance with Miles Morales.
Intihar revealed that Spider-Man 2 will take place "about 10 months after the events of Miles Morales," and he also teased how Peter and Miles "are a great team" at this point in the story:
"It’s about 10 months after the events of Miles Morales, so Miles has kind of gone through his journey to understand what kind of Spider-Man he wants to be and him and Peter are a great team. And that’s kind of where we kick things off at the beginning of this game."
The story in Marvel's Spider-Man takes place from October 2018 to February 2019, and Miles Morales is set around one year later in 2020. With the confirmation that Spider-Man 2 takes place "about 10 months after" the second game, it can be inferred that it will be set in 2021.
Spider-Man 2 is set to feature a massive slew of villains such as Venom, Kraven the Hunter, and the Lizard.
Intihar went on to talk about how focusing on both Peter Parker and Miles Morales was "extremely challenging" in and of itself, but that adding in all of these villains only made the task taller:
"Every single day, especially on the story side, it’s extremely challenging because you’re like, okay, well, we have to have a story for the big game, for just the overall world and then we have to also the same time come up with what Peter’s story is, what Miles’ stories are, and how do they intersect? What’s their hero story, what’s their superhero story? What’s their outside of the suit story? How are we juggling that with where you are with the symbiote and Kraven?"
The director also added that those obstacles he mentioned were purely story-based challenges and that when diving into aspects like "gameplay design, mission design, and skill trees," the process is "pretty tough" but also "fun:"
"I haven’t even mentioned how that all ties into the gameplay design, mission design and skill trees and all that stuff. So yeah, it’s pretty tough, but it’s fun when you play it."
Ryan Smith, the Game Director for Spider-Man 2 who also has credits for the first two games in the series, chimed in and talked about how including all of those characters is "also a big opportunity:"
"It’s also a big opportunity. The Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales game was really great, and it’s really great to be able to carry that forward, as well as all of our story characters from the original Spider-Man game, so it’s really cool to be able to do that."
How Long Will Spider-Man 2's Story Last?
Based on the timelines of the first two games and Brian Intihar's comments, Spider-Man 2's story will start out around the beginning of 2021 in the game.
The gameplay trailer for the upcoming title revealed that Peter Parker will be donning the Symbiote suit at some point in the game's story.
It was also teased that Miles will eventually notice how the Symbiote is affecting Peter, and it is quite possible that the two could be at odds at some point in the game.
With that being said, the major question is just how long Peter and the Symbiote will be together in the game's story.
Obviously, it is impossible to actually predict, but Spider-Man 2 will more than likely take place over the course of maybe three or four months, similar to the timeline of the first game. That would mean the end of the game would end around the middle of 2021 in-universe.
That would give enough time for the character arcs of both Peter and Miles to be fleshed out, all of the game's villains to get their time in the spotlight, and Peter and Miles to be at odds because of the Symbiote suit.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is set to be released exclusively on PlayStation 5 in Fall 2023.
