Wolverine Cracks Circana's Top 10, Shoving Past Live-Service Rivals on PlayStation

Marvel's Wolverine may not have won over every critic, but Insomniac's new superhero game is finding a big audience anyway. Circana's latest engagement data shows it breaking into a top 10 usually owned by live-service games.

For the week ending September 19, Wolverine ranked seventh on Circana's chart of top titles by weekly active users in the US. It sits between Marvel Rivals in sixth and Minecraft in eighth, and it is the only single-player game on the list, if you don't count Minecraft's solo players. NBA 2K27, Fortnite and Roblox held the top spots.

Circana analyst Mat Piscatella also noted how deeply people played. The average US player spent 14.2 hours with the game during the week, a figure that placed it in the top 20 across all PlayStation titles.

That is a strong showing for a story-driven adventure that most people will finish quickly. Unlike Marvel's Spider-Man, Wolverine has no sprawling open-world Manhattan to keep players coming back. Beyond a New Game Plus mode that unlocks extra skills, there is little reason to return, and the campaign can be wrapped up in about a week.

The launch has not been trouble-free. Insomniac has already shipped hotfixes that toned down the much-discussed scent trails guiding players to collectibles. GameSpot's review gave the game 8/10, calling it "fun but forgettable."

Sony has not commented on sales, but estimates put Wolverine at 1.9 million units sold through September 18. The game, which launched September 15, reportedly passed the lifetime PS5 sales of Death Stranding 2 within days.

Alinea Analytics' Rhys Elliott says the commercial picture is good but limited. "Wolverine has sold well, but its commercial long tail is limited by its mixed media and streamer reception," he wrote. Spider-Man reviewed brilliantly and has stayed evergreen for years, whereas Wolverine's tail should be shorter and lumpier. Still, Elliott expects further bumps from MCU X-Men marketing, holiday gifting and new PS5 owners hunting for a graphics showcase.

His broader point is that online backlash matters less than it seems. Millions of mainstream players will buy the game for the brand or unwrap it at Christmas without ever visiting Reddit to learn they were supposed to be angry.