Today, after months and months of anticipation, WB Games Montreal revealed a new Batman game titled Batman: Gotham Knights for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. And to accompany the announcement, the developer and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have revealed the game’s debut trailer, offering our first look at a brand new version of the Defender of Gotham. The trailer also reveals the game will release sometime in 2021.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“Batman is dead. It is now up to the Batman Family – Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood and Robin – to protect Gotham City, bring hope to its citizens, discipline to its cops, and fear to its criminals,” reads an official pitch of the game. “You must evolve into the new Dark Knight and save Gotham from chaos. Your legacy begins now. Step into the Knight.”
As we already knew, WB Games Montreal will be taking the reigns of Batman, a character it has some familiarity with, but not as much as Rocksteady, the team behind the Batman: Arkham trilogy. However, while Rocksteady is the team behind most of the recent Batman games, WB Games Montreal did develop Batman: Arkham Origins, the successor to Batman: Arkham City that hit back in 2013. It’s widely considered the least impressive entry in the four-game series, which is probably why, at least partially, Rocksteady seemingly pretends it doesn’t exist when it talks about the Batman: Arkham series.
Before shipping Batman: Arkham Origins in 2013, WB Games Montreal hadn’t really done anything of note. And since then, it hasn’t done much either. In 2014 it shipped LEGO Legends of Chima Online, and then a year later in 2015, it released Batgirl: A Matter of Family, DLC for Batman: Arkham Knight. In other words, we haven’t seen or heard much from the studio since it released Batman: Arkham Origins. It’s been seven years since it shipped a game proper, and six years since it shipped anything at all.
That said, here’s what’s been working on, or at least half of what it’s been working on. We know the developer is also working on a second DC Comics game, but, for the moment, it’s unclear what this could be or when we will hear more about this mystery project. Presumably, it’s not another Batman game, meaning Warner Bros. may finally be giving some other DC characters a little bit of video game spotlight.
The last time WB Games Montreal shipped a Batman game, Batman: Arkham was the only quality superhero series in video games. Now, there’s Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Marvel’s Avengers looks poised to impress later this year as well. In other words, the bar has been raised and there’s more competition, meaning more pressure to deliver an incredible Batman experience.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. How does the new Batman game look? Was it worth the wait?
