Spider-Man 2’s New Game Plus mode now won’t arrive until “early” next year

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 fans itching to return to New York for some New Game Plus action will need to wait just a little while longer; developer Insomniac Games has announced it’s delaying the previously promised mode – alongside a number of other features – into “early” 2024 for some additional testing ahead of release.

Insomniac confirmed Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 would – like its predecessor – be getting a New Game Plus mode just prior to its launch back in October, with the developer saying it hoped to have the feature in players’ hands “before end of year”.

That, alas, will no longer be the case; Insomniac has now revealed Spider-Man 2’s next major update – which will contain a number of “eagerly awaited” features including audio descriptions and the aforementioned New Game Plus – is now targeting a release “early” next year. “We have been working vigilantly on these features,” the studio explained in a statement posted to social media, “and require more testing to ensure the quality is up to our standards”.

Insomniac says a feature-complete list of all Spiderman 2’s latest inclusions will be shared closer to the update’s launch, but notes it has “heard [player] feedback and will be adding some highly requested features, including the ability to change the time of day, swap tendril colours, and replay missions – just to name a few!”.

“We can’t wait to share more with you in the future,” it added. “In the meantime, we appreciate your patience as our team works to finish our next update for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2”.

Spider-Man 2 – which Eurogamer’s Chris Tapsell called “a little simple and a little over-stuffed [but a] game of immense charm and fluid, free-form style” in his four star review – has been a hit for Sony and Insomniac, with the developer confirming sales surpassed 5m copies in the first three weeks of release. Half of those were sold within 24 hours, making it the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, beating the likes of God of War, Uncharted, and The Last of Us.