A near-complete prototype of a game based on the Marvel Comics character Daredevil leaked online. The game, Daredevil: The Man Without Fear,  was in development way back in the day for PS2, Xbox, and PC but got canceled. Now, the prototype is available to try on Hidden Place and has been modified so players can try it out on an emulator or PS2 hardware.

According to Hidden Place, The Man Without Fear featured an original story based on the Elektra Lives Again comic. The game follows Daredevil dealing with the fallout from his arch-enemy The Kingpin’s death as rival gangs occupying Hell’s Kitchen go to war with each other for control of the entire city which would lead to Elektra being resurrected.

Players would play has Daredevil in an action-styled beat ’em up that plays like a version of the Spider-Man games. Daredevil would have the ability to grapple up walls and cliffs and have an advantage of a spider-sense-like ability called “Shadow World.” This would allow Daredevil to see heat sources and other forms of life around him. The game was split into chapters where the game would guide players where they would need to go and what they would need to do to finish each chapter. There would also be optional side missions that players can choose to do.

Early on in development, the game was much smaller in scope but things changed following news of the movie adaptation in 2003 which increased the game’s budget and size and scope. The cancelation of the game came from the demands between Sony and Marvel who did not see eye to eye on what kind of game Daredevil: The Man Without Fear was going to be. Sony suggested adding the beat ’em up style combat system and a grinding system inspired by Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. 

Eventually, the game moved to a different engine which shifted the game’s focus from an open-world game to something more linear. The game would miss its initial target release date coinciding with the release of the movie and was in development until 2004. At the end of the day, Marvel refused to approve the game due to the changes that were made based on Sony’s recommendations that strayed to farr from the original concept. The game was rumored to be almost completed by the time it was canceled. Eventually, a Daredevil game would be released for Game Boy Advance.

Coincidently, this canceled Daredevil game sees the light of day following the release of Insomniac Games’ highly anticipated Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. All three Spider-Man titles by Insomniac feature tons of easter eggs from Marvel of other characters, places, and things in the universe including Daredevil.

Players could find the offices of Nelson and Murdock in the first game. However, you may have not seen it in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 until now. In a spoilercast with IGN, it was noted that the easter egg seems to have been removed. Creative Director Bryan Intihar commented “That’s a good question; Stay tuned. Good find though.”

Unless there’s some hardcore Spidey/Marvel fans can correct me on this, I believe the running theory here is that this is a secret room for THE HAND.

Coupling this with Bryan Intihar’s cryptic tease about the Nelson & Murdock building being vacant and…DAREDEVIL DLC???

— Eren | Caboose (@CabooseEK) October 31, 2023

Following Intihar’s comments, speculation began to rise of whether or not Daredevil could be making an appearance in the game in some fashion. This led to fans finding a secret room in a bookshop. There is a logo found in the secret room and throughout the store that many are driving to the conclusion that it represents The Hand, a supervillain organization of evil mystical ninjas ho are heavily involved in organized crime and mercenary activities. Some might recognize the name from the recent Marvel Netflix shows.

Now, speculation continues as the latest patch for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has added back the Nelson and Murdock plaque with Intihar tweeting

Guess they paid their rent… https://t.co/SzXFEXWaqZ

— Bryan Intihar (@bryanintihar) November 2, 2023

So while a Daredevil game in the vein of the Batman Arkham and Marvel’s Spider-Man series was canceled, we may be seeing The Man Without Fear sooner than we think. Insomniac Games is also hard at work on a solo Wolverine game so their Marvel universe seems to be getting bigger and bigger.