It was named the twentieth-best video game developer by IGN, and one of the best places to work in America by the Society for Human Resource Management.

The studio shortlisted "The Resistance Incorporated", "Ragnarok", "Black Sun Software", "Ice Nine" and "Moon Turtle" before choosing the name "Insomniac Games".

It was pitched to various publishers and was later shown to Mark Cerny, an executive producer from Universal Interactive Studios, who was impressed by the team's efforts.

However, the 3DO did not perform as they had expected, and Universal suggested that the team should switch to Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation to increase sales of the game.

The game originally ran on a custom engine developed by Alex Hastings, and was upgraded and converted for the PlayStation within a month.

[2][5] Craig Stitt, an environment artist of Disruptor, proposed that the game's theme and story should revolve around an anthropomorphic dragon.

To make the game more varied than its predecessors, the team introduced more special moves for Spyro the Dragon and more playable characters.

Insomniac's ideas for its first PlayStation 2 project included Monster Knight, a concept that was designed in 1999 but the game did not get beyond its planning stage.

[3] A few weeks after the cancellation of Girl with a Stick, Brian Hastings proposed that the company should work on a space adventure game with a science fiction theme.

As a result, they developed "Art Nuevo de Flash Gordon", a Metropolis diorama, for Sony, which decided to help the game's funding and publishing.

[citation needed] Jason Rubin, on behalf of Naughty Dog, lent Insomniac the engine used in Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.

Insomniac hoped to bring new elements to the franchise; it received feedback from players and improved some features of Ratchet & Clank.

With the launch of the PlayStation 3, the team thought users of the new console would be more mature than those of its predecessors and wanted to develop a game to cater for them.

To make the game stand-out, they experimented with turning it into a squad-based shooter and introducing giant lizard enemies which were later scrapped.

[17] Resistance: Fall of Man was a launch title for the PlayStation 3; the team said developing a new game for the console was a challenge because they had to work quickly to meet its target release window.

[3] The development of the sequel soon began; the team wanted to drastically change the game, leading to internal debate between staff members.

The team at Insomniac reviewed players' feedback regarding the negative aspects of Resistance 2, re-introduced some mechanics from Fall of Man, and focused on narrative.

[22] The company hoped to reach a wider audience,[23] while keeping the rights to its IP and retain full control of its franchises.

Fuse was one of the lowest-rated games developed by Insomniac, and was another commercial failure, debuting in 37th place in the UK in its first week of release.

The reception to Fuse showed the company it should develop "colorful, playful experiences that's loaded with unusual, sometimes silly weapons".

The game was inspired by Hyena Men of Kenya, Tank Girl, I Am Legend, The Young Ones, Halloween masks from the 1960s, and Lego.

Sunset Overdrive was created by Marcus Smith and Drew Murray;[35] their first pitch to Insomniac's head was rejected as being too confusing.

Price compared the agreement to their previous first-party deals, and added that having the opportunity to develop games for the first generation of VR platforms is something the team could not reject.

[45] In September 2017, Insomniac Games revealed its new brand logo, which replaced the moon image standing in for the "O" with a more stylized iconograph.

[46] Insomniac chief brand officer Ryan Schneider said part of the rebranding was to prevent the studio being pigeonholed; while the moon-based logo had well-represented the company for its Spyro and Ratchet & Clank cartoon-like games, it did not reflect well on the expanded directions they had moved in recent years, such as the Spider-Man game.

[47] Schneider said that along with the brand change, the company plans to be engaging with players, offering live-streaming of their work, and re-establishing a new identity, without completely eschewing their past.

[56] In December 2023, hackers from ransomware group Rhysida targeted Insomniac, threatening to release information if they did not pay 2 million dollars in bitcoin.

Insomniac refused to pay, and as a result, over 1.67 terabytes of data was leaked containing files, including an early release build of Marvel's Wolverine.

[57] Players, developers, and publishers expressed sympathy for the leak, and Insomniac stated on social media that "We’re both saddened and angered about the recent criminal cyberattack on our studio and the emotional toll it’s taken on our dev team.

[75] A standalone spin-off title in the series, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales was first revealed at the 2020 PS5 Future of Gaming event on June 11, 2020.