The Arkhamverse is thriving and the possibilities for its future are tremendously exciting.Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguehas revealed that Flash is alive, suggesting other League members are, too; Rocksteady began development on an unannounced game in June; and Camouflaj and Meta’sBatman: Arkham Shadowis diving back into the prequel era during Bruce Wayne’s third year as Batman.
Rocksteady recently suffered layoffsin response to the poor sales ofSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueand, with the knowledge of a new game already being in development, it is deeply unfortunate that its QA team and other departments were decidedly pared down and stains the prospect of a newArkhamtitle.
There hasn’t been any confirmation that what Rocksteady’s working on is anArkhamor Arkhamverse game, to be clear, but with the developer only having dedicated itself to its original DC canon for the last 15 years it would be an enormous shock to see it tackling anything else out of the blue. Now, even withBatman: Arkham Shadowalone as a beacon of hope securing a revitalized avenue for prequels and the cult-classic statusArkham Originshas been ascribed in the last several years, the Arkhamverse is at an arresting turning point that could see it enter a brand-new golden age a decade and a half later.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguehad a lot it needed to do to satisfy its role in the Arkhamverse from picking up the pieces of definitive finality thatArkham Knightdeliberately erected to debuting a multiverse network and a whole Justice League team. This is a massive leap from the standaloneBatmangames that stuck with the Dark Knight and his Bat Familyexclusively, and Rocksteady likely would’ve found it advantageous to bridge that chasm of world-building with a game or two of players enjoying Task Force X exploits before killing its Justice League and wreaking havoc in multiple Elseworlds with a dozen Brainiacs.
Either way, the Flash was abruptly and unceremoniously revealed to be alive. If Rocksteady isn’t simply appeasing an angered Arkhamverse community with this decision, it seems likely that it wishes to have these characters return down the line and has gone back on killing them to ensure that happens within the Arkhamverse’s universe.
How Batman could play into the Arkhamverse’s future is uncertain unless Rocksteady is willing to recast the legendary Kevin Conroy, butRoger Craig Smith is already reprising the role forArkham Shadowand Rocksteady selecting him for a present-day or future entry would be understandably respectable. It’s probably too late forSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueto turn its reception around now, but whatever’s cooking at Rocksteady has the potential to eclipse it if it’s a faithful and reverent course correction.
Rocksteady’s Unannounced, In-Development Game Could Shatter Arkhamverse Ceilings
Rocksteady having an unannounced game in the works could point toward it pivoting fromSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueas soon as its last season of post-launch content has launched and live updates are all it’s concerned with. It’s probably going to be quite a number of years until whatever this upcoming game is comes to fruition, but with the directionSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueis headed in now the possibilities are endless for what it could be.
If Rocksteady is underway on its return to theArkhamgames with Batman as its playable protagonist, perhaps in a spin onBatman Beyond, a sequel toKill the Justice League, or a prequel installment followingArkham Shadow, it could mean the Arkhamverse is going nowhere and is in fact poised for much-needed cohesion and conviction.
WB Games Montreal, Armature, and Camouflajhave since proven that Rocksteady isn’t the only studio that can produce a favorableArkhamgame anymore, though Rocksteady is still undeniably responsible for some of players’ favorite work in the canon. If anything, this could be an opportunity for it to demonstrate that it hasn’t lost its touch in a meaningful way. Rocksteady may not be composed of all the developers who worked on theArkhamtitles anymore, butSuicide Squad’s gameplay ensures it is no less capable of greatness.
DC games should be allowed to prosper without theArkhamname, or at least not through theArkhamname alone. Nonetheless, few announcements would rock the industry as hard asRocksteady taking another stab at the tried and true formula ofBatmangames it createdwhile Camouflaj sustains its integrity in the meantime.
Batman: Arkham Shadowis upheld on the bones ofArkham Originsand rolls around in the same prequel framework that makes the latter so narratively compelling. Having been announced as exclusive to VR, it isn’t surprising that there were early concerns ofShadowbeing more akin toBatman: Arkham VRthana genuine installment held to the same standard asAsylum,City,Origins, orKnight. Fortunately, the game is scheduled to release sometime next month as a wholesale entry in the Arkhamverse.
The liberties it’s taking in fleshing out established characters as well as debuting ones who haven’t been seen at all before is phenomenal, lending to its authorship. It’s anyone’s guess when the next flatscreenArkhamgame may be revealed—if ever. That said, there’s no doubt the Arkhamverse is in good hands at Camouflaj and it’ll be neat to see how the studio fashions its own world-building within the franchise.
For instance, players will finally get to see what District Attorney Harvey Dent was like in the Arkhamverse before he becomes Two-Face, andDr. Jonathan Crane is apparently experimenting on poor psychiatric patientsbefore he decides to wear a burlap sack as the terrifying Scarecrow.
So, even if Rocksteady never developed anotherArkhamgame, Camouflaj is more than up to the task of perpetuating its legacy. If successful,Shadowcould also make room for interesting lore where there are presently significant gaps to fill in theArkhamverse’s ever-flowing tapestry.
