Key Highlights:
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will launch exclusively for PS5 on Friday, October 20, 2023.
- Insomniac Games has confirmed Eddie Brock is not the host of Venom in its version of the story.
- Venom’s identity remains secret, although Insomniac’s previous games already provide a significant clue about who could eventually bond with the symbiote.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will release exclusively for PlayStation 5 on October 20, 2023, with Insomniac Games confirming the launch date alongside a major new detail about Venom.
Senior Creative Director Bryan Intihar also revealed during Summer Game Fest that Eddie Brock will not be the character behind Venom in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
The decision means Insomniac is deliberately moving away from one of the most familiar versions of the character. Intihar said the studio wants to tell an original Venom story rather than reproduce something players have already seen in the comics or films.
The studio is keeping the actual host secret. That leaves Venom’s identity as one of the biggest unanswered questions surrounding the sequel following the confirmation of his role in the original 2021 reveal trailer.
There is already one particularly strong clue within Insomniac’s existing continuity.
The post-credits scene of Marvel’s Spider-Man showed Harry Osborn suspended in a medical tank while an unidentified black organism surrounded his body. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales returned to that storyline, showing Norman Osborn demanding that Dr. Curt Connors release Harry despite the apparent risks.
Those scenes make Harry an obvious candidate when considering who could eventually become Venom, but they do not confirm that outcome. Insomniac has repeatedly shown a willingness to reinterpret established Spider-Man characters, and Intihar’s comments make clear that the studio intends to preserve the mystery until players experience the story themselves.
The release-date announcement also adds more concrete information following the first full Spider-Man 2 gameplay reveal in May.
Insomniac has now confirmed that Peter Parker and Miles Morales will both be playable, with near-instant switching available while exploring the open world. Manhattan returns alongside the newly playable Queens and Brooklyn, expanding the version of Marvel’s New York beyond the previous games.
Peter gains symbiote abilities after bonding with the Black Suit, while Miles receives evolved bioelectric powers. Both heroes can also use Web Wings to move around the city alongside the existing web-swinging system.
Insomniac’s official release-date announcement also confirms that pre-orders will open on June 16. The Standard, Digital Deluxe and Collector’s Editions will each offer different content, with the Collector’s Edition including a 19-inch statue depicting Peter Parker and Miles Morales fighting Venom.
For now, October 20 gives Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 a firm launch date, while Insomniac has deliberately left one of its most important story questions unresolved: if Eddie Brock is not Venom, who is?
Later update: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 launched as scheduled for PS5 on October 20, 2023, and the finished story revealed that Harry Osborn becomes Venom.
The earlier post-credits scenes were therefore directly connected to the symbiote storyline, although Harry does not simply begin the sequel as Venom. He initially returns to Peter’s life after receiving treatment involving the symbiote, which temporarily stabilises his illness.
The final game therefore resolved both major points announced on June 8. The October 20 release date held, and Insomniac’s statement that Eddie Brock was not Venom ultimately concealed a story centred on Peter Parker, Harry Osborn and the symbiote rather than the character’s traditional comic-book host.
