Insomniac Games is an American game developer based in Burbank, California. It was founded by Ted Price in 1994, and originally went by the name Xtreme Software until 1995. The studio is best known for its work on the Ratchet & Clank series and working as a second-party developer for Sony Interactive Entertainment for over two decades; in 2019, the studio was acquired by Sony into becoming part of PlayStation Studios.
Insomniac is responsible for several critically and commercially titles during its partnership with Sony, including the Spyro the Dragon trilogy, the aforementioned Ratchet & Clank series and the Resistance trilogy. After 2011, with the release of Resistance 3, Insomniac began to develop games for other platforms outside the PlayStation brand, though the studio also worked on additional games for Ratchet & Clank.
The studio released its first licensed game, Marvel's Spider-Man, in 2018. The game's critical and commercial success was followed with Sony acquiring Insomniac in 2019. Following the acquisition, Insomniac resumed working on additional titles for the Spider-Man and Ratchet & Clank franchises, as well as further partnerships with Marvel.
Insomniac Games has been acclaimed as a game developer for its high-quality titles that prioritize fun and gameplay, and some of the studio's games won multiple accolades and were commercial successes. It was additionally praised for being one of the best working places for young people in America.
History[]
1994-1995: Foundation[]
1995-2000: Spyro era[]
2000-2005: Working on Ratchet & Clank[]
2005-2011: PlayStation 3 era[]
2011-2018: Multi-platform expansion, Spider-Man[]
2019-2023: Sony acquisition, later Marvel projects[]
- "Insomniac is the perfect fit for Worldwide Studios. They bring quality and innovation, the two things that we lean into every time and all the time. I can’t say enough good things about Ted and his team. We’re just super delighted."
- ―Shawn Layden, 2019.[3]
2023 ransomware breach[]
In December 2023, a hacker group called Rhysida claimed to have hacked into Insomniac Games servers and obtained multiple data files belonging to the studio, including information about upcoming game releases, and sensitive employee data; the group demanded ransom of $2 million in Bitcoin to be fulfilled within a week-long deadline. In a statement to IGN, Sony confirmed the data breach, and launched an investigation into the incident.[4] A week later, on December 19th, the Rhysida group released the leaked Insomniac Games data, with over 1.3 million files containing information on released projects such as Spider-Man 2 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, footage and data of Wolverine, upcoming release lineup, internal Sony strategy and data information, and sensitive information about Insomniac employees.[5][6]
Several news outlets, including Polygon, noted the scope of the leak, with Polygon's Oli Welsh calling it a "devastating breach" and describing it as "perhaps even more impactful" than the leak sustained by Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto VI.[7] Multiple figures and companies within the gaming industry offered their support to Insomniac, including Wushu Studios, Remedy Entertainment, God of War director Cory Barlog and Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann.[8][9]
Bloomberg noted that the ransomware hack impacted hundreds of former and current employees, and that the scope of the stolen data neared 1.7 terabytes. The outlet reported that rumors of lay-offs within Insomniac were circulating for several months at the time of the hack, and the data breach confirmed these plans; Insomniac scheduled a staff meeting for December 21 to address the issue, but had to reschedule it to early 2024 due to holidays.[10]
Insomniac released a statement addressing the cyberattack, acknowledging the stolen data and thanking its community for support.[11]
2024-current[]
In February 2024, Insomniac was named as one of several internal studios to be impacted by a significant round of layoffs at Sony Interactive Entertainment of roughly 900 employees.[12]
Relationship with other studios[]
PlayStation Studios[]
Insomniac Games is a subsidiary of PlayStation Studios since 2019.
Bend Studio[]
Naughty Dog[]
Third-party[]
High Impact Games[]
Kojima Productions[]
Games[]
Main developer[]
Game title | Release | Platform | Additional notes |
---|---|---|---|
Spyro the Dragon | 1998 | PlayStation | Multiplatform remake developed by Toys for Bob and published by Activision in 2018 |
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage | 1999 | PlayStation | Multiplatform remake developed by Toys for Bob and published by Activision in 2018 |
Spyro: Year of the Dragon | 2000 | PlayStation | Multiplatform remake developed by Toys for Bob and published by Activision in 2018 |
Ratchet & Clank | 2002 | PlayStation 2 | n /a |
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando | 2003) | PlayStation 2 | n / a |
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal | 2004 | PlayStation 2 | n / a |
Ratchet: Deadlocked | 2005 | PlayStation 2 | n / a |
Resistance: Fall of Man | 2006 | PlayStation 3 | n / a |
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction | 2007 | PlayStation 3 | n / a |
Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty | 2008 | PlayStation 3 | n / a |
Resistance 2 | 2008 | PlayStation 3 | n / a |
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time | 2009 | PlayStation 3 | n / a |
Resistance 3 | 2011 | PlayStation 3 | n / a |
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One | 2011 | PlayStation 3 | n / a |
Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault | 2012 | PlayStation 3 | n / a |
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus | 2013 | PlayStation 3 | n / a |
Ratchet & Clank | 2016 | PlayStation 4 | Reimagining of 2002's Ratchet & Clank |
Marvel's Spider-Man | 2018 | PlayStation 4 | n / a |
Spider-Man: Miles Morales | 2020 | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC | PC port developed by Nixxes Software |
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart | 2021 | PlayStation 5, PC | PC port developed by Nixxes Software |
Spider-Man 2 | 2023 | PlayStation 5 | n / a |
Wolverine | TBA[13] | PlayStation 5 | n / a |
Expansion packs and DLCs[]
Game title | Release | Platform | Additional notes |
---|---|---|---|
Marvel's Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps | 2018 | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC | Expansion pack trilogy for Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered |
Rereleases and remasters[]
Game title | Release | Platform | Additional notes |
---|---|---|---|
Ratchet & Clank Collection | 2012 | PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita | High-definition remaster of the first three Ratchet & Clank titles; o-developed with Mass Media Games and Idol Minds |
Spider-Man: Remastered | 2020 | PlayStation 5, PC | Remastered version of 2018's Spider-Man; PC port developed by Nixxes Software |
Other projects[]
Game title | Release | Platform | Additional notes |
---|---|---|---|
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters | 2007 | PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 | Special thanks; primarily developed by High Impact Games |
Secret Agent Clank | 2008 | PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 | Special thanks; primarily developed by High Impact Games |
Resistance: Retribution | 2009 | PlayStation Portable | Early design process; primarily developed by Bend Studio |
Resistance: Burning Skies | 2012 | PlayStation Vita | Special thanks; developed by Nihilistic Software |
Death Stranding | 2019 | PlayStation 4 | Additional support; primarily developed by Kojima Productions |
Cancelled[]
- Monster Knight
- Girl with a Stick
- 1080 Pinball
References[]
- ↑ https://insomniac.games/a-new-look-for-insomniac/
- ↑ https://interactive.libsyn.com/oddworld-with-lorne-lanning
- ↑ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-sony-interactive-bought-spider-man-maker-insomniac-games-1233018
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/hackers-reportedly-breach-spider-man-2-dev-insomniac-release-wolverine-and-staff-data
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/insomniac-hackers-release-stolen-data-leak-wolverine-videos-future-projects-and-more
- ↑ https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/19/24007570/insomniac-games-hack-wolverine-x-men-ryhsida
- ↑ https://www.polygon.com/24007591/insomniac-games-hack-wolverine-spider-man-3-data
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/video-game-developers-send-messages-of-support-to-insomniac-following-release-of-stolen-data
- ↑ https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/12/devs-weigh-in-on-disgraceful-insomniac-games-data-breach
- ↑ Schreier, Jason. PlayStation Employees Fear Identity Theft After Massive Data Breach, Bloomberg. December 22, 2023.
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/insomniac-games-shares-a-message-regarding-the-cyberattack-like-logan-insomniac-is-resilient
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-announces-significant-playstation-layoffs-affecting-900-staff-london-studio-to-close
- ↑ Insomniac Games and Sony Interactive Entertainment have not disclosed the timeframe for Wolverine; leaked documents from the Insomniac leak in December 2023 indicated that the title aims for a 2026 release