Gotham Knight Studios' Mysterious DC Game Can't Be Batman Again

Gotham Knights developer's next DC video game needs to move away from more Batman and instead focus on new heroes and villains.

Warner Bros. Montreal, the developer behind Gotham Knights, is said to have begun work on a secret project - one that should steer clear of yet another Batman-centric video game if set in the DC universe. Gotham Knights is a very different Batman game, as its narrative imagines Gotham after the death of the Caped Crusader. However, Gotham Knights is still a Batman game, and Warner Bros. Montreal's next DC game needs to move on and focus on other DC stories.

DC video games rarely stray from Batman's strong cultural shadow. Even Rocksteady's upcoming Suicide Squad game takes place in the Arkham universe, including the late Kevin Conroy reprising his role as Batman. Over the past decade, games like the Batman: Arkham series and the Injustice fighting game have cemented the Dark Knight's place as a central narrative protagonist in the DC video game universe. While this focus on Batman has resulted in some of the most exciting and compelling DC stories in gaming, it has given the DC Universe's other heroes and villains far fewer opportunities.

WB Montréal's Next DC Game Was In Development Before Gotham Knights' Release

According to TheGamer, Gotham Knights senior producer Bryan Theberge recently Work on an "unannounced project" for the studio has begun, revealed on LinkedIn. It's been previously reported that Montreal is working on another project while Gotham Knights is being developed, so it's unclear how far that project is going. Before Gotham Knights, the developer had reportedly been working on a Damian Wayne-led Batman game and even a Suicide Squad game, both of which were canceled.

WB Games Montréal's Next DC Game Should Spotlight Superman Or Lesser-Known Heroes

DC Comics has dynamic, rich character stories that Warner Bros. Games Montreal can focus on in their next video game. Green Lantern, Superman, Aquaman, and dozens of other heroes all have decades of history to draw on, leaving fertile ground for new DC video games without Batman. Whether WB Games will take its storytelling in a different direction remains to be seen.

Despite Batman's dominance in the media, DC video games are still trying new things in their narratives. As previously mentioned, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will take place in the Arkham universe, but its story and gameplay will also focus on the members of the Suicide Squad rather than Batman himself. While this isn't really a breakthrough for Batman, it's demonstrating a new way of telling stories for less With familiar characters, it can learn from the successes and failures of Gotham Knights. Batman will always be the same, but the underrated DC hero deserves his own game, and for a variety of different genres. With that in mind, it's time for WB Games to step out of Bat's shadow.

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