Leaked trailer footage from the Spider-Man: The Great Web is spreading across social media, part of the massive Insomniac breach that roiled the studio back in December. IGN won't be linking to the footage in question.
The trailer shows a multiplayer version of Insomniac's Spider-Man games, with Miles Morales and Gwen Stacey aka Spider-Gwen among the playable characters battling the Sinister Six. It looks to have been a five-player multiplayer game built on a live service foundation, similar to Naughty Dog's canceled The Last Of Us. The multiverse appears to be the main conceit for character customization.
Spider-Man: The Great Web was never formally announced, and the trailer seems to be essentially a concept trailer intended for internal use. Its quiet cancellation comes amid a broader shift by Sony away from service games despite the breakout success of Helldivers 2, which has been one of 2024's early success stories.
Ultimately, it's unclear why Insomniac decided to cancel The Great Web. However, its leaked roadmap for the next several years points to numerous planned projects, including several Marvel games. In its own statement explaining the cancellation of The Last of Us Online, Naughty Dog framed the decision as a choice between prioritizing legacy of single-player narrative games and live service games, which require a tremendous amount of resources to support over the long haul.
IGN has reached out to PlayStation for a statement clarifying the original plans for The Great Web.
Elsewhere, support for Spider-Man 2 is ongoing, with Patch 1.002.000 adding New Game+, new suits, and more. The update also appeared to have accidentally revealed an entire arc for upcoming DLC, known as the "Beetle Villain Arc." It's unclear what other plans for Insomniac has for Spider-Man 2 going forward, which has sold more than 10 million units as of February 2024.
Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
