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InsomniacGamesLogo2-v2

Insomniac Games' logo between 2002 and 2017, and the one primarily used for most of their history as a second-party developer for Sony prior to their purchase in 2019. The logo received a slight redesign in 2003 following its first usage.

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[]

Insomniac Games
Sony Interactive Entertainment - PlayStation Studios

Spyro the Dragon
Spyro the Dragon - Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage - Spyro: Year of the Dragon


Ratchet & Clank
Ratchet & Clank - Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando - Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal - Ratchet: Deadlocked - Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction - Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty - Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time - Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus - Ratchet & Clank (2016) - Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One - Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault


Resistance
Resistance: Fall of Man - Resistance 2 - Resistance 3


Marvel's
Spider-Man (The City that Never Sleeps) - Spider-Man: Miles Morales - Spider-Man 2 - Wolverine

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