Marvel's Spider-Man is now the best-selling superhero video game of all time in the United States, conquering Batman: Arkham City. Spider-Man has been massively successful since its release last September, selling over 9 million copies into January. Insomniac Games recently added free DLC suits based on the Upgraded and Stealth suits from Spider-Man: Far From Home, which has certainly helped the game remain popular.
Out of all the many superheroes, Spider-Man has been featured in the most scattershot games in terms of quality. Some, such as Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man on PlayStation, are well liked. Others, such as Spider-Man: Edge of Time and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, have been criticized by many. Fans were ready for a new, definitive title starring the wallcrawler. Insomniac delivered that with Marvel's Spider-Man for PS4. The game was marketed for its emphasis on web-slinging, combat, and story set in its own unique continuity. The title released to acclaim, and was nominated for a number of awards, including Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2018. It set the standard for Marvel games going forward, and sales have not stopped either, because it is now the greatest-selling game in the U.S. based on a superhero.
According to The NPD Group's Mat Piscatella, Marvel's Spider-Man has surpassed Batman: Arkham City as the highest-selling superhero video game in the U.S. This is particularly impressive because Marvel's Spider-Man has been out for less than a year.
Some may be surprised that Batman: Arkham City has fallen to second place. After all, that game was more acclaimed than Marvel's Spider-Man. While the Spider-Man title achieved a score of 87 on Metacritic, Batman: Arkham City's score is 96. Many fans would agree that Batman's game is the superior one. But, with social media word-of-mouth being bigger than ever, and Spider-Man lending itself to more of an all-ages crowd than Batman, it becomes easy to understand why Marvel's Spider-Man now holds the record.
Marvel's Spider-Man isn't likely to be surpassed anytime soon. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order will likely do decent, but nowhere near Spider-Man's numbers. The biggest competition is going to come from Square Enix's Marvel's Avengers next year. However, even with how popular the Avengers are thanks to the movies, it's hard to picture the game reaching number one. Marvel's Spider-Man was a welcoming title, easy to jump in for fans of any age. If anything, the unannounced sequel would probably have the best chance at surpassing the game. No matter what, the future for Marvel video games is certainly brighter thanks to Marvel's Spider-Man being the new standard.
Source: Mat Piscatella,