Numerous video games featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man have been released. Spider-Man has appeared on over fifteen gaming platforms, including apps on mobile phones.
Overview + Overview of Spider-Man video games Title Release Platforms Developer PublisherSpider-Man1982Atari 2600, Odyssey 2Parker BrothersQuestprobe featuring Spider-Man1984Amstrad CPC, Apple II, C64, C16, Atari 8-bit, ZX Spectrum, IBM PC compatibleAdventure InternationalAdventure InternationalThe Amazing Spider-Man and Captain America in Dr. Doom's Revenge!1989MS-DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, C-64ParagonMedallistThe Revenge of ShinobiGenesis, Sega CDSegaSegaThe Amazing Spider-Man 1990Amiga, MS-DOS, C-64, Atari STOxford Digital EnterprisesParagonThe Amazing Spider-ManGame BoyRareLJN/NintendoThe Punisher: The Ultimate Payback! 1991Game BoyKrome Studios MelbourneAcclaim EntertainmentSpider-Man vs. The KingpinGenesis, Master System, Game Gear, Sega CDTechnopopSegaSpider-Man: The Video GameArcadeSegaSegaThe Amazing Spider-Man 21992Game Boy Bits StudiosLJNSpider-Man: Return of the Sinister SixNES, Master System, Game Gear LJN/Flying EdgeSpider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's RevengeSuper NES, Genesis, Game Gear, Game BoySoftware CreationsThe Amazing Spider-Man 3: Invasion of the Spider-Slayers1993Game BoyBits Studios LJNSpider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage1994Super NES, GenesisSoftware CreationsThe Amazing Spider-Man: Lethal Foes 1995Super Famicom Argent, EpochEpochVenom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety Super NES, GenesisSoftware CreationsAcclaim EntertainmentSpider-ManWestern TechnologiesLJN/Acclaim EntertainmentThe Amazing Spider-Man: Web of Fire199632XBlueSky SoftwareSegaSpider-Man: The Sinister SixMS-DOSBrooklyn MultimediaByron Preiss MultimediaSpider-Man2000PlayStation, Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, Microsoft WindowsNeversoft / Vicarious Visions (GBC) / Edge of Reality (N64) / Treyarch (DC) / LTI Gray Matter (Win) ActivisionSpider-Man 2: The Sinister Six2001Game Boy ColorTorus GamesSpider-Man 2: Enter: ElectroPlayStation Vicarious VisionsSpider-Man: Mysterio's MenaceGame Boy AdvanceSpider-Man2002Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Windows, PlayStation 2, XboxTreyarch / LTI Gray Matter (Win) / Digital Eclipse (GBA)Spider-Man 22004Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, N-Gage, Mac OS X, Nintendo DS, PlayStation PortableTreyarch / Digital Eclipse (GBA, NGE) / Foundation 9 Entertainment (Win) / Aspyr (Mac) / Vicarious Visions (DS, PSP)Ultimate Spider-Man2005Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo DSTreyarch / Beenox (Win) / Vicarious Visions (DS, GBA)Spider-Man: Battle for New York2006Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, MobileTorus GamesSpider-Man 3 2007Game Boy Advance, Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation PortableVicarious Visions / Treyarch (X360, PS3) / Beenox (Win)Spider-Man: Friend or FoeWindows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation PortableNext Level Games / Beenox (Win) / Behaviour Interactive (DS, PSP)Spider-Man: Web of Shadows2008Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox 360Shaba Games and Treyarch / Griptonite Games (DS) / Amaze Entertainment (PS2, PSP)Spider-Man: Toxic City2009MobileGameloftMarvel ComicsUltimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem2010iOS, AndroidGameloftGameloftSpider-Man: Shattered DimensionsNintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, WindowsBeenox / Griptonite Games (DS)ActivisionSpider-Man: Edge of Time2011Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360Beenox / Other Ocean Interactive (DS)The Amazing Spider-Man2012Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, Android, iOS, Windows, Mobile, Wii U, Windows Phone, PlayStation VitaBeenox / Other Ocean Interactive (DS) / Gameloft (AND, iOS, MOB, WP) / Mercenary Technology (Vita)Spider-Man Ultimate Power2014Android, MobileGameloftGameloftSpider-Man UnlimitediOS, Android, Windows PhoneThe Amazing Spider-Man 2Android, iOS, Windows, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox OneBeenox / Gameloft (AND, iOS) / High Voltage Software (3DS)ActivisionMarvel's Spider-Man2018 PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows Insomniac Games Sony Interactive EntertainmentMarvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales2020Marvel's Spider-Man 22023PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows
1980s The Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962).
By the late 1970s, Spider-Man had become a successful franchise. At this time the fictional character had already featured in the animated series Spider-Man, a segment on the children's television series The Electric Company (called Spidey Super Stories), and the live action prime time series The Amazing Spider-Man. As a result of the success, Marvel Comics licensed the character into a stream of electronic games.
Atari 2600 (1982)
In 1982, Parker Brothers published a game for the Atari 2600 (and its clone system, the Sears Video Arcade) titled Spider-Man. The action game involves climbing a skyscraper, capturing criminals and defusing bombs set by the Green Goblin. It supports two players.
The game is similar to the 1980 arcade video game Crazy Climber. It is a variation on its gameplay format, with added web shooting and swinging abilities.
Questprobe (1984) In 1984, Scott Adams released the second in the Questprobe series of text adventure games. The second in the series was titled Questprobe: Spider-Man, and involved Spider-Man hunting for a series of gems at the behest of a mysterious character named the "Chief Examiner". The game was ported to the Commodore 64, Commodore 16, Atari 8-bit computers, ZX Spectrum, IBM PC, Amstrad CPC, and the Apple II. This was a first-person-perspective graphical adventure game, with commands entered textually.
The Amazing Spider-Man and Captain America in Dr. Doom's Revenge! & The Revenge of Shinobi (1989)
In 1989, The Amazing Spider-Man and Captain America in Dr. Doom's Revenge! was released for MS-DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, and Commodore 64. The game was written by Paragon Software Corporation, and published by Medallist (a subsidiary of MicroProse). The story of the game is told in a series of comic panels, with the game play similar to that of Street Fighter: The player, as either Captain America or Spider-Man, battles villains one-on-one until facing Doctor Doom.
In December 1989, The Revenge of Shinobi was released on the Mega Drive/Genesis. The game's boss battles feature comic book characters including Spider-Man and Batman, as well as famous movie characters, including Terminator and Godzilla, and even Rambo as normal-stage enemy. Initially, Spider-Man was included without consent from Marvel, but another version was released, this time with the copyright message shown in the beginning of the game, giving credit to Marvel, and editing the looks of Batman, Rambo and Godzilla, so avoiding a possible lawsuit; a Sega CD version was released, being derived from the altered version.
1990s In the 1990s, comics enjoyed a boom, and the early 1990s saw a myriad of video games based on high-profile comic story lines and the 1994 Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
Home computers
The Amazing Spider-Man was the first game of the decade released, a puzzle oriented action game developed by Oxford Digital Enterprises and released in 1990 for the Amiga and ported to MS-DOS, Commodore 64, and Atari ST. The title was published by Paragon Software Corporation and features over 250 screens.
Game Boy The Amazing Spider-Man, developed by Rareware and released in 1990 was the first in a trilogy for the newly introduced Game Boy. The game was published by LJN (a subsidiary of Acclaim), the first of a series of games published based on licensed Marvel characters. The game play involves running across New York chasing supervillains to locate Mary Jane Watson.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was developed by Bits Studios and released in 1992. The game is a side-scrolling beat-'em up. Spider-Man attempts to clear his name after he is accused of a crime committed by the Hobgoblin.
Spider-Man 3: Invasion of the Spider-Slayers, the third in the series, was released in 1993 by Bits Studios.
The Punisher: The Ultimate Payback! by Australian company Beam Software was released in 1991 for the Game Boy. The game is much like Operation Wolf, with the Punisher shooting villains while protecting the innocent. Spider-Man appears between the action to offer advice on how to beat upcoming levels and swings in to rescue hostages once their captors have been shot.
Games for the Sega family of consoles The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin, developed and published by Sega and released in 1990, was the first game featuring Spider-Man on Sega consoles. The game premiered on the Master System and Genesis in 1991, followed by the Game Gear in 1992, and to the Sega CD in 1993. Fundamentally, the game is the same on each platform with each iteration including new levels, enhanced graphics and a few incremental improvements to the game play. The story involves Spider-Man trying to collect six keys from six villains to defuse a bomb in New York planted by the Kingpin. Spider-Man has a finite supply of web fluid and the only way to replenish is to take photos, most profitably of the supervillains, to sell to the Daily Bugle.
Spider-Man: The Video Game was released in 1991 for coin-operated arcades. Developed by Sega on Sega System 32 hardware, the game is a four-player, platform beat-'em-up similar to Data East's Captain America and the Avengers released the same year. The player plays as Spider-Man, Black Cat, Namor the Sub-Mariner, or Hawkeye, with the game divided into four acts.
Nintendo Entertainment System Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six, developed by B.I.T.S. and released in 1992 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, is the first game featuring Spider-Man on the NES. It is an action platform game that involves Spider-Man swinging across various levels to defeat each one of the Sinister Six; Electro, Sandman, Mysterio, Hobgoblin, Vulture and Doctor Octopus. Ports to the Master System and Game Gear followed in 1993.
Genesis and Super NES Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge, the first Spider-Man cross platform game, was released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. It was first developed for the Super NES in 1992 by Software Creations (who went on to produce several games for Marvel) and published by LJN. The game was later ported to the Genesis in 1993. The game involves rescuing four of the mutant superhero X-Men (Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Gambit) from an assassin named Arcade. The player must navigate Spider-Man in search of the captured heroes (who join Spider-Man when found), fighting a variety of super villains. Software Creations later adapted the game to the Game Boy in 1993 and to Game Gear in 1994.
Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage, released on Super NES and Genesis in 1994, was the first one of two major Marvel comic book storyline adaptations by Software Creations. Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety released in 1995 for Super NES, Genesis and PC was the sequel. Both games are side scrolling beat-'em up action games where the player controls either Spider-Man or Venom, fighting various villains from the comic book plotlines.
Spider-Man from 1995, was developed by Western Technologies and published by Acclaim on the Genesis, and by LJN on the Super NES. It marked the beginning of a range of software incorporating elements from the Spider-Man cartoon. The game is a side scrolling action platformer. The Super NES game features six levels, five bosses, and fourteen sub-bosses. The Genesis game features five levels, five bosses, and thirteen sub-bosses. The game also features the Fantastic Four.
Super Famicom