Marvel's Wolverine Sales Hit 1.9M, Analyst Doubts Long-Term Success

Marvel's Wolverine has an impressive sales start, but an analyst doubts its long-term success due to mixed reviews.

According to Alinea Analytics, Marvel's Wolverine moved roughly 1.9 million copies and brought in about $130 million during its first days on sale following the September 15 launch. Rhys Elliott, who leads market analytics at Alinea, shared the figures on social media. His breakdown shows physical copies accounted for about 22.9% of the revenue.

Sony has not confirmed these numbers itself. Marvel's Wolverine launched to bugs and criticism, yet still turned into a successful release, with sales reportedly hitting 1.9 million copies.

Despite bugs and criticism, Marvel's Wolverine has become a successful release - sales of the action game have already reached 1.9 million copies

Measured against Spider-Man 2, Wolverine's opening was softer, if Alinea's estimates hold up. Even so, it has already passed Death Stranding 2 — Hideo Kojima's PS5 title — in both lifetime sales and revenue. Within days, Wolverine also became the strongest new PlayStation Studios release on PS5 this year, ahead of MLB The Show, Bungie's Marathon, Housemarque's Saros, and the fighting game Marvel Tōkon.

What remains unclear is how long the game can keep selling. On Metacritic, Wolverine sits at 77 from critics and 6.8 from players. The analyst is not convinced the game has strong long-term prospects:

Yes, "Wolverine" is selling well, but its long-term sales are limited by mixed press reviews and a mixed reaction from streamers. Unlike "Spider-Man," which received incredibly good reviews and remained relevant for many years, this game's success will be shorter and less impressive, but it will still happen.

December could bring a boost, the analyst believes, thanks to the release of "Avengers: Doomsday" featuring the X-Men — though it is not known whether Hugh Jackman's Wolverine appears in it. Another factor is the expected growth of the PS5 install base after GTA 6 arrives in November, and Wolverine is likely to be a popular gift under the Christmas tree.

Wolverine will continue to sell, just not at the level of Spider-Man. Spidey became evergreen. And Wolverine will be more like ever-yellow.

Insomniac said earlier this week that it intends to keep polishing the game based on player feedback. The studio has already adjusted Logan's scent trail, which had become an online joke in recent weeks. Some players want the option to switch the trail off entirely, arguing it makes the gameplay too hand-holding.