Batman’s Number Should Come First If WB Really Is Serious About Its Core Franchises

The Batman: Arkham series last got treated to a proper AAA release in 2015 with the onset of Batman: Arkham Shadow. Ever since then, it’s only been misgivings and whatnot to cast a lens on, with a somewhat capable VR title that’s only Meta Quest-3 exclusive, which hardly emphasizes the massive potential of this otherwise grand IP.

The character itself, the lore of Gotham City, and the characters surrounding the universe are brimming with room for creativity, but Warner Bros. would rather follow things up with a live service shooter instead. It’s been pretty disappointing on this front so far, but as of late, a ray of hope has seemingly surfaced in a recent earnings call. Before I get to it, I just sure hope the company makes its plans come to fruition, and rightfully so.  

Warner Bros. Games’ Current Focus And What That Means 

Following the substantial nosedive that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has taken, resulting in a whopping $200 million loss for Warner Bros. Games, the company has re-evaluated what it now wishes to work on in the future.

It’s clear that WB only has a handful of IPs in sight as it filters its highest chances of success in the case of spearheading a new project. David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discover, let out the following statement in a recent investors report.

I think we’re through some of the worst — and it hasn’t been pretty — on the gaming business. But we have four games that are really powerful and have a real constituency that love them, and we’re going to focus on those four primarily. We’re going to go away from trying to launch 10, 12, 15, 20 different games. I think we have a real chance now with focus to have the gaming business be steadier.”

This change in course was anticipated to a certain extent, considering the results of the company’s last project, but the question now stands: What will Warner Bros. pick first to work on? I’d like to wager my money on Batman, but it’s all a bit too hazy at this point and I’m afraid Batman may not get picked anytime soon.

Mortal Kombat is already thriving with annual iterations. Hogwarts Legacy just came out and sold a gazillion copies, meaning that fans currently are in no rush for a sequel. God knows what WB can do with Game of Thrones in the context of gaming, so all we’ve got left now is Batman. In any case, there shouldn’t be a specific reason to develop the IP, I’ll tell you that.

Now here’s why it’s wrong that Batman continues to get the short end of the stick.

The Legacy Of The Batman: Arkham Franchise That’s Now Tarnished

Batman’s eminence as one of the most established superheroes knows no bounds, but in video game format, the recent state of Batman games do not do this character justice. Why is that, you may ask? The answer is both simple and complex. 

To begin with, the authority on the premier Batman IP, namely the Batman: Arkham series, thought it fit to follow up the legacy of the franchise with a live service third-person shooter in the name of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, essentially picking up things from where they were left off in Batman: Arkham Knight.

Now, that’s a real shame.

Note: Major Arkham Knight story spoilers await ahead.

Batman: Arkham Knight ended on a terrific note, making Bruce Wayne initiate the Knightfall Protocol. I’ll try my best to keep things spoiler-free here, but in short, that particular endeavor marks the end of Batman as we know him. Instead, a new, menacing figure watches over Gotham now, but only from the shadows.

Yeah, whatever happened to that Rocksteady? Arkham Knight’s post-credits scene is something that still lingers with me even to this day, with no genuine follow-up in sight. Despite of us teary-eyed fans getting treated to an actual Batman game already, what we actually got was Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
A half-baked third-person shooter that’s far, far away from the legacy of earlier Batman games.

What Rumors Say About The Next Batman Game 

Unfortunately, nothing of profound interest. It has been recently claimed that Warner Bros. has internally greenlit a Batman: Arkham Asylum remake, but that’s only a rumor at this point and no concrete evidence is available to support the claim.

In all fairness, the decision does not make much sense, and we’d much rather have a new iteration that picks up from where the story got left off in Arkham Knight right up until Brainiac arrives on Earth. There’s the concept of Batman Beyond as well that hides in the corner, with no WB executive shining a light on the promising potential of the would-be project.

What do you think about Warner Bros. and its plans going forward? Do take to the comments section ahead and share your thoughts.