Marvel’s Wolverine has reportedly sold 1.9 million copies in its first three days, giving Insomniac Games and Sony a strong start for their latest PlayStation first-party release. The estimate comes from Alinea Analytics analyst Rhys Elliott, who also estimates that the game generated around $130 million in consumer revenue during the same period.
These are third-party estimates and have not been officially confirmed by Sony or Insomniac Games. Elliott estimates that around 1 million copies came from digital pre-orders, while physical sales accounted for 22.9% of the estimated revenue. This is a revenue share and does not mean physical copies made up 22.9% of total units sold.
The reported launch also follows the game’s strong performance on the PlayStation Store. As we reported earlier, Wolverine was showing a strong performance on PS Store charts across multiple regions despite the criticism surrounding the game.
Wolverine’s opening is impressive, but it remains well behind Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Sony confirmed that Spider-Man 2 sold more than 2.5 million copies in its first 24 hours after its October 20, 2023 launch.
Wolverine has therefore not matched the launch pace of Insomniac’s previous Marvel game, although the two figures cover different periods and should not be treated as a direct measure of lifetime sales.
Alinea’s estimates nevertheless put Wolverine ahead of several other new PlayStation releases this year, including Saros and Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls. It has also reportedly passed the estimated lifetime PS5 sales of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which Alinea estimates at around 1.8 million copies and $129 million in revenue.
A large part of Wolverine’s audience already appears familiar with Insomniac’s Marvel games. Alinea estimates that 82% of Wolverine players had previously played Marvel’s Spider-Man, while 70% had played Spider-Man 2 and 67% had played Miles Morales.
The game also has notable crossover with other popular titles. Around 45% of Wolverine’s audience had played Batman: Arkham Knight, while 43% had played Marvel Rivals.
The US is reportedly the game’s largest market, accounting for 53% of its player base, followed by the UK, France and Canada.
Wolverine has received a more mixed critical response than Spider-Man 2. Its 77 Metascore reflects reviews that praise its combat, presentation and storytelling, while some critics have raised concerns about its linear structure and repetitive gameplay.
The game has also faced significant online criticism over its frequent gameplay guidance, including the visual trail that directs players toward objectives. However, that criticism has not prevented a strong opening based on the current sales estimate.
The long-term performance will now be more important than the first three days. The upcoming holiday shopping season could provide another opportunity for Wolverine to attract new players, but it remains too early to know whether it can maintain its launch momentum or approach Spider-Man 2’s long-term sales.
