Insomniac Games has confirmed that its two Marvel games, Marvel's Wolverine and Marvel's Spider-Man 2, are part of the same universe. Up until now, no standalone Marvel games have been directly connected to each other, which has led to some fans getting a tad annoyed given the films are so interwoven. Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine will somewhat remedy this, however, and begin some sort of connected universe.
The first trailer for Marvel's Wolverine is intentionally vague and also seems to be much further away than the Spidey sequel, but it does have some minor hints. For starters, it seems like Wolverine isn't in New York City. He appears to be in some sort of rural bar, possibly in Quebec thanks to a license plate seen in the corner of the bar. That said, Insomniac has stated the two games are within the same universe, so it seems likely Wolverine and Spider-Man will meet up at some point.
Insomniac confirmed on the PlayStation Blog that it Marvel's Wolverine is a standalone game being directed by Brian Horton, but it's also building a "new, original universe" with Spider-Man and now Wolverine. The trailer for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 teases Venom and other villains, so it's likely Peter Parker and Miles will have their hands full. Perhaps there's an opportunity for Wolverine to show up and lend a helping hand, but it may be a lot to cram into the sequel. At the very least, it seems like there may be a plan to have the characters cross over at some point given they co-exist in the same world.
Insomniac teased a number of other Marvel heroes that already exist in the unofficially coined Marvel Games Universe. In Marvel's Spider-Man, players can find references to Doctor Strange, the Avengers, Daredevil, and a number of other characters. It wouldn't be surprising if more characters are also getting games within this universe.
Up until now, Marvel has not had a video game universe to rely on. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is totally standalone, despite being published by Square Enix, the publisher of Marvel's Avengers. This has allowed every developer some leeway in terms of the stories it can tell, giving everyone a blank slate of creative freedom, but it has also hindered some of these games. Given all of these characters live within one universe in the comics and now the films, it's been frustrating to not see that in a video game. Thankfully, Insomniac looks to be changing that.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will release exclusively on PlayStation 5 in 2023. Marvel's Wolverine will also be exclusive to PlayStation 5 but has no release window.
Source: PlayStation Blog