Marvel's Spider-Man is a 2018 action-adventure game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The first installment in the Marvel's Spider-Man game series, it is based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man and tells an original narrative that is inspired by the long-running comic book mythology, while also drawing from various adaptations in other media. In the main story, the superhuman crime lord Mister Negative orchestrates a plot to seize control of New York City's criminal underworld. When Mister Negative threatens to release a deadly virus, Spider-Man must confront him and protect the city while dealing with the personal problems of his civilian persona, Peter Parker.
Players control Spider-Man from the third-person perspective, with the gameplay primarily focusing on his traversal and combat abilities. Spider-Man can freely move around New York City, interacting with characters, undertaking missions, and unlocking new gadgets and suits by progressing through the main story or completing tasks. Outside the story, the player is able to complete side missions to unlock additional content and collectible items. Combat focuses on chaining attacks together and using the environment and webs to incapacitate numerous foes while avoiding damage.
Development of Marvel's Spider-Man, the first licensed game by Insomniac in its then-22-year history, began in 2014 and took approximately four years. Insomniac was given the choice of using any character from Marvel's catalog to work on; Spider-Man was chosen both for his appeal to the employees and the similarities in traversal gameplay to their previous game Sunset Overdrive (2014). The game design took inspiration from the history of Spider-Man across all media but Marvel Comics. Insomniac wanted to tell an original story that was not linked to an existing property, creating a unique universe (known as Earth-1048) that has since appeared in novels, merchandise, and comics.
Marvel's Spider-Man was released for the PlayStation 4 on September 7, 2018, being praised for its graphics, narrative, characterization, combat, musical score, and web-swinging traversal mechanics. It received a number of accolades including being named as one of the best superhero games ever made. It became one of the fastest-selling games of the year and the best-selling PlayStation 4 game of all time. The game's success launched a new franchise for Insomniac and Sony which has since been accompanied by other games and tie-ins in other media. The game was followed by an expansion, The City That Never Sleeps, in late 2018. In November 2020, a remastered version of Marvel's Spider-Man was released for the PlayStation 5 alongside Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, a spin-off and continuation focused on Spider-Man's protégé Miles Morales. A sequel, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, was released in October 2023 for the PlayStation 5.
