Rocksteady may be best known for revolutionizing Batman games with their Arkham trilogy, but the studio has recently gotten some seriously bad rep after the release of the critically bombed Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
So far, the game has released some DLC here and there, but it looks like there could be no salvaging this AAA live service disaster. With that in mind, it seems Rocksteady is ready to return to the franchise that put them on the map.
Is Rocksteady Working on a New Batman Game?
In a reply to a post from The Game Awards, Xbox Era’s Nick Baker (@Shpeshal_Nick) says that Rocksteady is currently working on a new Batman title, and what’s more, it looks like Sony is eyeing the game to become an exclusive for PlayStation.
“Not sure which studio people’s dream is, but I heard Rocksteady are back making it. I also think Sony are trying to moneyhat it lol”
There are no details besides what Baker said, but returning to an established IP could be the right move on Rocksteady’s part; after all, it’s the same tactic that CD Projekt Red is doing with their next Witcher game.
Are Arkham Games Even Good Anymore?
Arkham Asylum and Arkham City are considered gold standards for Batman titles, but by Arkham Knight, the cracks had started to form when it came to Rocksteady’s performance. Not many people were jazzed about the overuse of the Batmobile, and the story of Arkham Knight didn’t have the same kind of kick as the previous Joker-centric stories.
Even Arkham spinoffs from other studios didn’t manage to engage audiences when they came out. Gotham Knights was a critical bomb when it was released, despite allowing players the chance to use four different members of the Bat-family. And then there's Arkham Origins, which may have had its fans, but it didn’t get the same acclaim as the original games.
As for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, the title did have an interesting premise, but it seems to have been lost with the developer’s pivot to making the game a live service multiplayer title with a battle pass.
Fans decided that it wasn’t exciting to have characters like Captain Boomerang and King Shark have guns as their primary weapons when both of them clearly had fun weapon/power gimmicks.
Can Batman Save Rocksteady?
If Rocksteady really is getting back to work on a Batman title, then heads are sure to turn. Maybe this could be a way for the studio to fix the missteps with Arkham Knight and Suicide Squad; but on the other hand, maybe it could mean that Rocksteady can’t really do anything great outside of Batman.
Perhaps there’s room for a Justice League game down the line, or solo titles for characters like Superman or Green Lantern, but as of now, it looks like Batman is the only hero that has some solid foundations for a video game protagonist.
Rocksteady has not officially announced a new Batman game.
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