Sony is spending heavily to ensure that nobody visiting Las Vegas overlooks the arrival of Marvel’s Wolverine.
The PlayStation 5 exclusive took over the massive Sphere this week as part of an elaborate promotion celebrating its September 15 launch.
Wolverine slashes his way onto @spherevegas to celebrate the launch of Marvel’s #WolverinePS5 pic.twitter.com/SzgtWaGBLY
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 16, 2026
“Wolverine slashes his way onto @SphereVegas to celebrate the launch of Marvel’s #WolverinePS5,” PlayStation announced on X.
The minute-long video shows the Las Vegas landmark transforming into a snowy Canadian wilderness before Wolverine slices through its exterior with his adamantium claws. Logan then appears inside the Sphere, seemingly preparing to leap through its illuminated surface.
It is an undeniably impressive advertisement. It also almost certainly came with a substantial price tag.
Advertising on the Sphere Is Not Cheap
Sony has not disclosed how much it paid for the promotion. However, previous campaigns provide some idea of the potential cost.
Scene from the trailer for Marvel’s Wolverine – PlayStation, YouTube
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In 2023, The Verge reported that Sony and Microsoft may have each paid as much as $450,000 to display advertisements on the Sphere. Those promotions featured Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and an Xbox holiday campaign.
The reported rate was based on leaked pricing from shortly after the $2.3 billion venue opened. That does not necessarily mean Sony paid the same amount to promote Marvel’s Wolverine, especially since prices may have changed during the past three years.
Still, the stunt makes clear that Sony is willing to put considerable marketing muscle behind Insomniac Games’ latest superhero title.
That investment may be particularly important because Marvel’s Wolverine reportedly cost approximately $305 million to develop.
Wolverine’s Story Sparks Controversy
The extravagant promotion also arrives as the game continues generating controversy.
In a three-star review published before the release of Marvel’s Wolverine, Gene Park of The Washington Post argued that the game feels derivative of other action brawlers. He also suggested that players watch rather than control some of its most impressive moments.
Wolverine and Sabretooth in Marvel’s Wolverine – Insomniac
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Potentially more damaging, however, were Park’s comments about the game’s story. He claimed that a sequence in which Wolverine and his longtime nemesis Sabretooth attack a military installation includes a moment of mutual “yearning.”
Narrative director Walt Williams agreed.
“Logan feels that yearning and he gets scared and pulls away,” Williams told the Post. “Sabretooth feels that yearning and it makes him hurt and want to lash out to exert that hurt outward. Hate and love are so hand in hand. You hurt me so I’m going to hurt you, and we’re still going to be linked because now the pain is shared.”
The comments were widely circulated and may have raised concerns among some gamers. Park later accused critics of misquoting his article, although the disputed language appeared in the review itself.
Players Deliver a Mixed Verdict
As of September 17, Marvel’s Wolverine had fallen to approximately 6.4 out of 10 among Metacritic users. According to Geeks + Gamers, that is roughly two points below the user scores for Insomniac’s two main Spider-Man games.
Wolverine in Marvel’s Wolverine – Insomniac
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The PlayStation Store presents a sharply different picture, with verified players giving the game approximately 4.8 out of five stars. Metacritic permits anyone with an account to submit a score, leaving its system more vulnerable to coordinated campaigns by both supporters and critics.
Sony’s Sphere takeover will not resolve that disagreement. It does, however, demonstrate how much the company has riding on Wolverine becoming its next blockbuster franchise.
The advertisement may be cutting through the Las Vegas skyline, but Sony still needs the game itself to cut through the growing controversy.
What do you think of Sony spending big money for an ad on the Sphere for Marvel’s Wolverine? Sound off and let us know!
