Rocksteady’s Next Game Isn’t ‘Superman’, But Here’s What It May Be

Today, Rocksteady confirmed that not only is it not revealing its next game at The Game Awards 2018 on December 6, but that its next game is not Superman. This begs the question: what is its next project? Presumably it’s DC-related, but at this point, it may not be.

Whatever it may be, we know that it has been in development for quite some time, with co-founder and director of the studio, Sefton Hill, confirming as much back in 2016.

As you may know, back in June 2015, the team released Batman: Arkham Knight to cap off its Batman: Arkham series. It then presumably had a smaller team work on Batman: Arkham VR, which shipped a year later. In other words, said project has probably been in development since 2015, or at the very least, since 2016, which means it should be right around the corner.

All of that said, here’s what the mystery project may be:

Justice League

While most rumors, reports, and leaks pegged Superman as the next game from Rocksteady, there were a few sprinkled in there that have suggested it’s actually a Justice League game. 

As you may know, there’s actually been a few Justice League games over the years — such as Justice League Task Force on SNES and the Mega Drive in 1995 and Justice League: Injustice for All on Game Boy Advance in 2002 — but there hasn’t been one in awhile, or at least not in the form every DC fan has been clamoring for. 

And Rocksteady’s next game being a Justice League one wouldn’t make its confirmation that its project isn’t a Superman game untrue, but would explain why we’ve seen a lot of rumors and leaks involving Superman. Further, it would also make sense alongside the rumors floating around that the game may be online and focused around the “games as a service” philosophy. 

With Superman off the table, Justice League seems the most likely answer, but we once thought the game would be centered around the Man of Steel, so it’s hard to speculate too confidently. 

Arrow (or any other DC character)

Behind Superman and Justice League, over the past year or two, Arrow has been thrown around as the potential next game from Rocksteady, though this has mostly manifested from pure and hopeful fan speculation than any tangible rumor or report. But it’s possible, and perhaps holds some water when you consider that Arrow could be adapted into a video game pretty easily, at least better than most DC characters. 

That said, if it’s not Justice League, Rocksteady could be making a game for any DC character. Arrow just perhaps makes more sense than most. However, if you were going to leave Batman to work on another DC character game series, you’d think it would be Superman. And the fact that it isn’t Superman, seems to lend itself more to it being Justice League than just another single DC character, like Arrow. 

New IP

If it’s not Superman or Justice League, it may very well be not anything related to DC, and may just be a brand-new IP.

Since it was founded in 2004, Rocksteady Studios has never worked on or created its own IP. Its first game was Urban Chaos: Riot Response in 2006, and since then, it’s been nothing but Batman. 

The studio originally worked with Square Enix — who still holds 25 percent share in the company — but now is a part of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. And while as a publisher it has published new IP, its internal studios have mostly treked in existing IP, such as DC, Lord of the Rings, and Mortal Kombat. In other words, it seems unlikely Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment would greenlight a brand-new IP, especially when the studio made a name for itself making Batman games. But it’s possible.