If there is anything to surmise from the heights of anticipation for LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, it’s that the Batman: Arkham franchise’s legacy precedes it. Between Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, Batman: Arkham Origins, and Batman: Arkham Knight, the series’ popularity has cemented it as a definitive Batman mythology, with fans itching for a brand-new Batman: Arkham game.
The Arkhamverse (the colloquial name for the Batman: Arkham games’ continuity) had two in-universe installments launch in the last two years, but they’ve come with caveats. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a poorly received live-service shooter, and Batman: Arkham Shadow is leashed to the Meta Quest 3/3S. Rumors and leaks regarding a new Batman: Arkham game have been around for the last decade, and one that was swiftly debunked has fans more distraught than ever.
A fake ‘leak’ sprouted recently on 4chan and was shared on Reddit, claiming that Rocksteady was working on a Batman: Arkham game adapting the Batman Beyond era. This included images, as well as key story beats and other such details, but any chance of the ‘leak’ being legitimate was quickly dashed when journalist Jason Schreier responded to it on a ResetEra thread, writing, “Faaaaaake.”
It’s great that a fake leak like this has been outed, with Reddit user timelordoftheimpala describing its debunking as a “Death by Schreier truthnuke.” That said, the reason why anyone might have believed it in the first place is because of how badly fans have wanted a Batman Beyond-style Arkham game, and how logical it might be to imagine that sort of sci-fi, cyberpunk-esque Neo-Gotham in the future of the Batman: Arkham games’ lore.
For example, user Zeeisrage was skeptical of the leak itself, stating, “The ‘Nemesis System’ is where I knew it couldn’t be. Way too good to be true,” while others, like user XxRedAlpha101xX, simply lament the lack of a “modern” Batman: Arkham game on flatscreen platforms.
Interestingly, it appears as if not all fans would be overwhelmingly thrilled with a new Batman: Arkham game developed by Rocksteady, even if it was inheriting a Batman Beyond storyline. As user Die-Hearts remarks, there are at least a couple of reasons why Rocksteady may not be trusted by fans anymore: “SS KTJL bombed,” and “almost all of Rocksteady’s veteran talent are gone.”
It is true that we have not had a dedicated Rocksteady Batman: Arkham game for more than 10 years, and it may be unrealistic to expect that the studio as it is today could replicate the same lightning in a bottle that it captured with its Batman: Arkham trilogy. Studios like WB Games Montréal, Camouflaj, and TT Games are demonstrating that the same atmosphere and gameplay formulas can be adopted elsewhere, though Rocksteady will obviously have the biggest weight on its shoulders as the developer that conceived the Arkhamverse.
Nonetheless, it will be fascinating to see what Rocksteady truly is working on when the time comes for it to finally be announced. And, fans will hopefully have Schreier—not the hero we deserve, but the hero we need—to look to as their north star if any other dubious ‘leaks’ about a potential new Batman: Arkham game rear their heads until then.
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Bob Kane, Bill Finger
First Appearance
Justice League, Outsiders, Batman Family
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.