Before you play the blame game…

Everybody is discussing Marvel’s Wolverine as a fan, and that’s fair. But there’s a business structure underneath it that almost nobody talks about, and understanding it makes your criticism land a lot harder.

Insomniac was bought by Sony in 2019, which makes it a first-party studio. Marvel Games moved out of passive licensing and into co-development roughly ten years ago, which is why the press releases read “in partnership with Marvel Games.” And in any licensing arrangement, the license holder approves everything. That’s the whole benefit of owning the license.

So what you’re actually looking at is a massive IP, inside the biggest entertainment medium on the planet, with two major companies involved and a lot of hands in the cookie jar. That’s a real part of why a game like this costs what’s being reported.

Which means it isn’t one party to blame if you take exception to it, and it isn’t one party to credit if you end up loving it. Understanding the structure helps either way.

If you want the deeper version of this, watch my breakdown on how IP licensing and option deals actually work.

#Wolverine #Gaming #Insomniac