After State of Play, it’s time to accept the truth about Spider-Man 2 DLC

Call me the Silver Surfer because I’m the herald of bad news for fans of sticky superheroes and it concerns Spider-Man 2’s DLC.

It’s been almost a year since Spider-Man 2 was released, and in those 11 or so months, we’ve had three State of Plays (not including the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth State of Play), and we’ve heard exactly nothing about the expected DLC.

With that in mind, I’m going to do my best impression of Madame Web and make a bold prediction about the further adventures of Peter, Miles, and the gang — we aren’t getting any.

Ok, that’s not exactly true. We’ll see the Spider-Fam again (never calling them that again), but not until Spider-Man 3 or (if you’re feeling optimistic) a Venom spinoff. However, I stand firm in my belief that there won’t be any Spider-Man 2 DLC.

Why no Spider-Man 2 DLC?

Insomniac Games

Now I know what you’re going to say, hypothetical reader: “But what about the Insomicac ransomware attack? Didn’t DLC details leak back then?” Yes, they did. In fact, Insomniac accidentally gave players access to Developer Mode when they released patch 1.002. This allowed curious players to do some digging, and they discovered all sorts of secrets.

Most notably, they found missions marked “Beetle,” a classic Spider-Man villain who doesn’t appear in the base game. Beetle was supposedly one of the baddies Peter and Miles would have to face in the planned DLC (according to the Insomiac attack), so it does seem that at one point, there were plans to add more content to the game.

So, why am I so convinced that we’ll never see Spider-Man 2 DLC when it seems some was in the works? Simply, a lot’s changed, I’m afraid. The aforementioned ransomware attack – hackers stole 1.67 terabytes of data and demanded $2 million to keep the information private – might have fuelled Reddit threads for a week or so, but it did real damage to Insomniac and their team. 

An early build of Wolverine leaked online, as did details on numerous projects all the way up to 2032. Some might think it’s a victimless crime; after all, no one got hurt, but that’s not true. Employee information was put online, and their unfinished work was spread far and wide. It was unfair and dangerous. 

Things change…

Insomniac Games

In a statement released several days after the attack, Insomniac thanked the fans for their support and said it was allowing staff to “support each other” after the “emotional toll” of the hack. It continued by saying that they were working to assess the extent of the damage but that the upcoming Wolverine game “continues as planned.”

Notice that they made no mention of Spider-Man 2 DLC in this statement? It’s understandable that in the aftermath of the attack, with the emotional toll and the security breach disrupting their workflow, they may have delayed or even shelved their plans for Spider-Man 2 DLC after assessing the extent of the damage. It’s equally possible that following the Wolverine leak, they’ve decided to put more resources into that game.

Speaking of resources, there’s another reason Spidey DLC might not be such a high priority. You don’t have to be in the gaming loop to know that 2024 has been a turbulent year for developers. There have been a lot of layoffs – an alarming amount – and Insomniac is no exception. 

Sony made 900 PlayStation employees redundant in February, and Insomniac released a statement saying they lost staff members during this process. It’s possible (although not confirmed) that reduced staff levels have changed Insomniac’s priorities, and they no longer see Spider-Man 2 DLC as a critical project. 

After all, they never officially announced it was happening; players assumed that the game would get more content because that’s what happened with Marvel’s Spider-Man. But, when we look at more recent Insomniac titles, like Miles Morales and Ratchet and Clank: Rifts Apart, you’ll note neither game got DLC. 

Maybe those working on the DLC have folded whatever ideas they had – and any dangling Spider-Man 2 plot threads (Carnage anyone) – into the rumored Venom spinoff. Maybe we’ll be waiting until Spider-Man 3.

Finally, the biggest reason I think that we’re unlikely to see any DLC is because the moment has passed. Yes, we’re less than a year on from Spider-Man 2’s release, but in that time, new games have been and gone, and players have moved on. I know FromSoft didn’t announce the Elden Ring DLC until a year after the main game’s release, but (and I say this with love) Spider-Man 2 is no Elden Ring. Insomniac has had multiple chances to give us a hint they were working on something, and they just haven’t.

So I’m saying this for my own sanity – the DLC just isn’t happening. Now, my predictions have been wrong before. I was once bizarrely convinced Morlun would appear in Spider-Verse, and my Lady Deadpool prediction was completely wrong (I still need to eat that Mavel Legend). I’m hoping I’m wrong – and on the first anniversary, we may get a pleasant surprise – I just don’t think I am. 

Anyway, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but at least I’m not the real Silver Surfer because that would mean Galactus was here to gobble up Earth… wait what’s that giant man doing in the sky?