Marvel’s Wolverine Game Incorporates Squamish Nation Language and B.C. Landmarks

Insomniac Games’ upcoming Marvel’s Wolverine video game is featuring British Columbia landmarks and the Squamish Nation’s language, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim, displayed on highway signs throughout the game world. Senior art director Gavin Goulden has explained the studio’s reasoning behind this inclusive design choice for the highly anticipated title.

Bringing Local Culture Into the Game World

The game incorporates authentic regional details by including highway signage that displays text in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim, the indigenous language of the Squamish Nation. By weaving in these language elements alongside recognizable B.C. landmarks, the developers are grounding the Wolverine game in a specific, real-world setting rather than creating a generic digital environment. Gavin Goulden, serving as senior art director on the project, has been involved in articulating why this representation matters to the team’s vision for the game.

Why It Matters

Marvel’s Wolverine is set in Vancouver—the character’s home turf in the comics—so embedding genuine local culture isn’t just flavor text; it’s world-building authenticity. Video games have historically glossed over or erased indigenous presence, even in settings where First Nations communities are central to the real geography and culture. By featuring Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim on in-game signage, Insomniac is acknowledging the Squamish Nation’s presence in their own territory.

For players familiar with Vancouver or British Columbia, these touches ground the game in reality and make the world feel lived-in rather than fictional. For others, encountering indigenous language in a AAA blockbuster normalizes it as part of the everyday landscape—which it is in B.C. This kind of representation in major games has become increasingly important as the industry grows and as studios face legitimate questions about whose stories and cultures they’re depicting.

The choice also reflects a broader industry shift toward consulting with indigenous communities and incorporating their input into games set in or inspired by their territories. It’s the kind of detail that doesn’t drive a game’s core mechanics or story, but it signals respect for the place being represented.

What’s Next

Marvel’s Wolverine remains one of the most closely watched upcoming PlayStation exclusives, with fans eager for more details about gameplay, story, and the game’s full scope. As the release window approaches, expect more breakdowns of how Insomniac has crafted Vancouver’s digital version and what other cultural elements may be woven into the experience.