PS Studios Celebrate Marvel Tokon Launch With Custom Art Posts

A PlayStation Tradition Carries On

When a first-party PlayStation title launches, there is a quietly beloved ritual that plays out across social media: PS Studios teams post original congratulatory artwork, each one filtered through their own studio’s personality and visual style. Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, the new superhero fighter from Arc System Works, arrived on PS5 and PC on August 6, and the tradition held up, more or less.

As reported by Push Square, three studios weighed in with posts, though the overall turnout was a bit thinner than usual for a PS Studios launch celebration.

Insomniac Multitasks, Santa Monica Goes Fiery

Insomniac Games was first to post, congratulating Arc System Works on the launch while simultaneously nudging attention toward Marvel’s Wolverine. The studio leaned into the crossover costumes the two games share, which is a legitimate connection, but the post read more like co-marketing than a pure celebration. Push Square’s Stephen Tailby noted he would have preferred something like Insomniac’s Wolverine clashing with the Tokon version, a missed opportunity for something genuinely fun.

Santa Monica Studio came in with artwork pairing Kratos and Ghost Rider, the two characters sharing an obvious visual thread in their flaming chain weapons. The image was drawn in Santa Monica’s signature congratulatory style, which has divided opinion in the comments. Some readers find it charming and consistent. Others find it a little stiff. The studio credited artist dlongfish for the piece.

Naughty Dog Earns the Gold Medal

The clear crowd favorite, according to reader response, was Naughty Dog’s contribution. Posted a day after the others on August 7, it shows Ellie from The Last of Us settling in at an arcade cabinet, apparently ready to grind out her Tokon combos. Naughty Dog’s caption read that “Ellie has all her combos memorized,” which lands well given how seriously she takes everything she puts her hands on.

The piece hits the sweet spot these posts aim for: it is specific to the studio’s characters, warm toward the game being celebrated, and just funny enough to feel genuine rather than obligatory. Comments on the Push Square article were fairly united on Naughty Dog sticking the landing.

What Makes These Posts Worth Watching

These launch-day artwork exchanges have become a small but real part of PlayStation culture. They are low-stakes, mostly harmless, and occasionally produce something genuinely memorable. The best ones find a visual or thematic thread between two very different games and pull something surprising out of it. A God of War character and a Marvel antihero bonding over burning chains is a decent hook. Ellie at an arcade is better.

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is Arc System Works’ first major Marvel project, and landing a PS5 console launch alongside simultaneous PC release means it arrived with real visibility. Getting three PS Studios teams to stop and draw fan art, even if one of them was clearly also doing some light Wolverine promotion, is not nothing.

Tailby noted at Push Square that the article will be updated if more studios add posts. Given that Naughty Dog filed theirs a full day after launch, there may still be a straggler or two to come.