Rocksteady’s Arkham series ends this year with Batman: Arkham Knight.
What’s next for the Dark Knight in video games?
This is how the Batman died.
Well, that is perhaps the biggest promotional spoiler in video game history.
Of course, one should probably lean to believe that Batman isnt actually dead.
The blunder was discovered by London-based gaming site VideoGamer onAmazon UK.
I should note that the original VideoGamer post is no longer available on their website.
Amazon UK also quickly swapped out the promo image.
Will they blow up the Dark Knight with a nuclear bomb, too?
Bruce then puts on his armor and rides off into battle.
The odds are definitely stacked up against him.
The city has been evacuated and the criminals have taken control of Gotham.
Batman is vastly outnumbered.
Plus a new mysterious villain known only as the Arkham Knight has a personal vendetta against the Caped Crusader.
How will Bruce make it out of this alive?
In fact, no DC character has received a solo game except Batman in more than a decade.
Batmans end seems like a perfect time to do as the DC Shared Cinematic Universe does.
Just to be 100 percent clear, I will never advocate for a direct film-to-game adaptation.
Never in my entire life.
And thats not what Im saying here.
Are there even any other superheroes out there?
It wouldnt take much.
The World feel ofArkham Origins.
Rocksteady is pushing it to the limit inArkham Knightwith that new Batmobile, which is basically indestructible.
Yall remember how quickly the Batmobile inArkham Asylumblew up, right?
So the Justice League would be a logical next step for DC superhero game line-up.
The newestLEGO Batmanboasts more than 150 DC characters, plus Conan OBrien.
Where does Batman fit in here if Justice League is a continuation of theArkhamseries?
Maybe well even get a few levels of Batman fighting his way back from the dead.
Three different developers are working on three separate installments in the series.
Treyarch works on theBlack Opsgames, Infinity Ward madeModern Warfare, and Sledgehammer is responsible for 2014sAdvanced Warfare.
This system gives each studio three years to develop their nextCODgame.
Hopefully, that means quantity doesnt sacrifice quality.
For the most part, the system has worked, although now consoles are just saturated with the shooter.
The same could happen to Batman.
So why not play it safe and keep giving fans what they want?
Many will argue thatArkham Originswas a placeholder while Rocksteady continued work onArkham Knight.
Is that the danger of this model?
That every other game is just the game in between?
Paul Dini wrote the first two games, and Geoff Johns and Jim Lee helped design the Arkham Knight.
There are enough studios under WBs umbrella to pull this off, too.
Rocksteady will ABSOLUTELY continue to work on DC properties as will WB Games Montreal.
The third is a bit more interesting.
I assume NetherRealm will makeInjustice 2afterMortal Kombat X, so youll see Batman in that for sure.
But there isnt a third big studio for Batman-focused projects.
Either WB will stick to two or theyll go get a new studio.
The movies, video games, and comics are doing extraordinarily well these days.
Long live the Batman!
Maybe Rocksteady really wants to continue working on Batman games afterArkham Knight.
Where do they go next?
Theyve called their upcoming game the end of the Arkham Trilogy.
All that could mean is that theyre ready to start over.
The story was intimate, took place in one location, and was self-contained.
Sure, it was much more linear than its sequels.
But I appreciated the much tighter experience, and would love to see that return to the Batman games.
Hell, I did ina past article about Batman games.
Just know that I DID think about it.
Nah, Im ready for more Morrison, the logical first choice.
Yes, a lot happened in Morrisons run.
The pros of more Morrison?
Not to mention that his source material inspired the most successful Batman games ever made.
The cons: many people call Morrisons run unreadable, full of digressions into Batmans long history.
Some of the references date back to the 60s and beyond.
Might not be very gamer friendly.
Of course, Rocksteady would undoubtedly work in source material like this very lightly.
TheArkham Asylumbook is no walk in the park, either.
A killer in the ranks, a creepy mansion to explore, and a mystery to solve.
Sounds like the makings of a fantastic Batman game to me.
Ravings of a mad man or possible future?
It would also be very easy to add Scott Snyder and Greg Capullos current Batman run into the mix.
Their run keeps things pretty dark throughout the 30+ issues and counting.
Theres also a bit of horror to enjoy, especially in the first two arcs.
They trap Batman in a big death maze and torture the crap out of him.
2 #1) and wears it like a mask.
Funny enough, Batman must venture into Joker-controlled Arkham Aslyum to save his family.
This would actually make for a pretty greatArkhamsequel about the Jokers rebirth.
Remember that these would probably just be jumping off points for the actual games.
Batman fakes his death at the end ofBatman: Arkham Knight.
Thats the final scenario.
A very possible one.
Its much easier to continue a money-making franchise than start a brand new one, right?
Perhaps the cowl will go to a reformed Arkham Knight in the end?
It would be the first time someone other than Bruce Wayne would be the Batman in video game history.
That would be cool.)
This would obviously be more of a sequel to the Arkham series than a restart.
Batman: Arkham Lives or something like that.
Nah, I dont dig the title, either.
But this could be the misdirection Rocksteady is banking on.
Just ask this guy:
Enjoy retirement, Bruce.
John Saavedra wore a Batman onesie way past the appropriate age.
Talk to him about iton Twitter.
