The 12 best Wolverine video games – from X-Men Origins to Midnight Suns

Wolverine has a very extensive gameography (Metro)

Now that the PS5 Wolverine game has a release date, GameCentral reflects on the character’s lengthy video game history.

Aside from Spider-Man, Wolverine is almost certainly Marvel’s most iconic character. He’s so popular that Marvel has a history of plastering him on the cover of comic books he wasn’t even in purely to drive up sales, thus coining the term Wolverine Publicity.

This popularity also means that, unless you count Deadpool, Wolverine is the one member of the X-Men to get his own solo video game, as well as guaranteed appearances in both X-Men related games and general Marvel crossovers. It’s honestly shocking he wasn’t one of the first characters announced for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls.

So, with Insomniac’s Wolverine game for PlayStation 5 finally making a reappearance at the most recent State of Play, and slated for an autumn 2026 launch, we’ve taken a look back at Wolverine’s video game history to highlight his most fondly remembered (and strangest) appearances.

X-Men (1992)

Although it was not the first X-Men video game (that was a top-down NES action game in 1989 featuring, amongst others, Wolverine), Konami’s arcade adaptation is undeniably the most iconic example to come out of the 90s. A quintessential arcade beat ‘em-up, chock full of X-Men fanservice, it sadly only ever saw a console re-release in 2010, for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and only in the US at that. Konami and Marvel need to hash out a new deal to make it more widely available.

Marvel Vs. Capcom series

We couldn’t not mention the excellent Marvel Vs. Capcom fighting games, which Wolverine has been a mainstay of since the original X-Men: Children Of The Atom in 1994. These games perfectly captured his fast-paced and feral fighting style, with his Berserker Barrage attack being particuarly iconic. He’s such a key pillar of the series that his absence from Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite, because Marvel didn’t own the film rights at the time, was keenly felt.

X-Men: Mutant Academy 1 & 2 (2000/2001)

This pair of X-Men themed fighting games aren’t the worst Street Fighter clones out there, but they’ve not aged well. Because it uses 3D polygonal graphics, instead of 2D sprites, it now looks more outdated than the much older Marvel Vs. Capcom fighters. The second one is memorable for having a rare playable Professor X appearance, meaning you can see Wolverine violently attack a man in a wheelchair.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 (2001)

It’s not just Marvel games Wolverine can get shoved into for no good reason. The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games would often feature unlockable guest characters, with the third one letting Wolverine shred things up in his classic yellow and blue spandex. It’s a shame this fun cameo didn’t carry over to the recent remake, but Activision don’t have the X-Men licence anymore.

X2: Wolverine’s Revenge (2003)

Despite releasing the same year as X2, and having Hugh Jackman on the cover, this action beat ‘em-up had zero ties to the movie and instead told an original story inspired by the comics. Patrick Stewart still voiced Professor X but Logan himself was played by Mark ‘Luke Skywalker’ Hamill. It was the first time Wolverine got his own modern single-player game, setting the ground work everything to come, even if it wasn’t actually very good.

X-Men Legends/Marvel Ultimate Alliance

Before it was sent to the Call Of Duty mines, Raven Software put out several fan favourite Diablo-esque action role-players, starting with a pair of X-Men centric games. The casts of each one got increasingly bigger, before expanding to include the whole Marvel universe, with the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games. Wolverine was always one of the first characters you could play as, including in the Nintendo Switch exclusive revival in 2019.

Ultimate Spider-Man (2005)

Even Spider-Man solo games aren’t safe from a Wolverine cameo, such as this adaptation of the Ultimate Spider-Man comics. In this instance, though, Spidey never actually meets Wolverine since he instead serves as an early boss fight for the game’s other playable character, Venom, after the symbiote trashes Logan’s bike.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Much like X2, this game had next to nothing to do with the movie it shares a name with, though at least Hugh Jackman reprised his role as Wolverine for this one. To date, this God Of War clone is considered the best solo Wolverine game, thanks to the uncensored Uncaged Edition, which went all in on the same bloody violence that the Insomniac game is heavily advertising.

Lego Marvel Super Heroes (2013)

It’s hard to think of any Marvel characters that aren’t playable in Lego Marvel Super Heroes, but we’ll take any opportunity to highlight one of the better examples of the Lego game formula. Wolverine plays an active role in the plot as well, but he’s absent from the sequel, which purposefully focuses on more obscure characters.

Fortnite

Given the character’s popularity, we’re shocked Fortnite had the restraint to only include three different Wolverine skins when he was added to the game in 2020. Aside from the classic yellow and blue outfit, you could unlock the yellow and brown version he sometimes wears, as well as a more casual vest and jeans, that harkens to his appearance in the first X-Men movie.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns (2020)

If you’re in need of some Wolverine action and can’t wait until 2026, we’ll always champion the excellent Midnight Suns. While it’s a turn-based strategy game, Wolverine’s playstyle suits him perfectly, involving quick and savage beatdowns with his claws. It’s not all snarling and action, though, as he lets his hair down between missions and even joins Blade’s book club to talk about a pulpy sci-fi novel.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion (2025)

We’re cheating with this one since Marvel Cosmic Invasion isn’t out until later this year, but we’re confident this will be a fun time considering it’s coming from the same people behind excellent retro themed beat ‘em-ups like Streets Of Rage 4 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge.

Wolverine as one of its playable characters was a no-brainer and from what we’ve seen so far, his moveset looks like it draws a couple of influences from his Marvel Vs. Capcom appearances. That’s despite the fact that he doesn’t usually count as a cosmic character – but then shoving him in anyway is perfectly in keeping with the Wolverine Publicity theory.

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