Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham series is one of the best gaming franchises in the world. The first Arkham game, Batman: Arkham Asylum, exploded with popularity when it was first released in 2009, and Rocksteady’s last installment to the series, Batman: Arkham Knight, was the fastest-selling game of 2015. The game sold over 5 million units by October of that year.
Nothing will top the feeling of soaring through the Gotham skies and drop-kicking thugs in that last game, but, the new rumored sequel of the franchise might just take the throne of being the best Batman game in the series. Yes, you heard it right, according to Bloomberg’s report, a new single-player Batman game is in the works.
Rocksteady’s rumored game might take inspiration from 1999
The rumor comes from the end of the lengthy Bloomberg report, stating “Rocksteady is looking to return to Batman for a single-player game.” Another reliable gaming insider, Lunatic Ignus, also commented on how the game is being developed exclusively for the PlayStation. Neither Rocksteady nor Warner Bros have formerly announced about the development of the Batman Sequel, but according to the Bloomberg report, the project is years from landing.
After the icy reception that followed Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Rocksteady is working on the new rumored Batman game which will be heavily inspired by the 1999 animated series, Batman Beyond. Although the title might not follow the exact storyline of the animated series, it is rumored that it will serve as the foundation for the upcoming game.
The Batman Beyond animated series takes place in Neo-Gotham, the 2039 version of Gotham with high-rises and rampant street gangs. In the distant future, Bruce is in his 70s and was forced to take retirement from being Batman after suffering from a mild heart attack during one of his missions. The mantle of Batman is then taken up by Terry McGinnis, a 16-year-old high school student who was later revealed to be Bruce’s son via surrogacy.
Terry is an ideal successor to don the cowl in the rumored title. He is an impulsive, rebellious teenager who was thrust into the world of vigilantism after the murder of his father in Neo-Gotham. His quick thinking and adaptability compensate for the lack of expertise of the original Batman. This unpredictable and agile combat style could offer a shift in the gameplay style compared to Bruce’s strategic and methodical approach.
Although rumors of the upcoming game have excited a lot of Arkham fans, this isn’t the first time a Batman Beyond-inspired game was discussed. In 2016, reports suggested that Warner Bros. Montreal was developing a similar project, codenamed Project Sabbath. It was intended as the next sequel for the series and was supposedly taking place 10 years after the events of Batman: Arkham Knight.
The project was eventually scrapped in 2017 with some of its elements reworked in Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Terry McGinnis is likely to take up the Arkham Batman mantle
While Rocksteady’s new single-player Batman game remains unconfirmed, it has certainly caught the attention of both gaming and Batman fans alike. Terry McGinnis is one of the characters that Batman fans are really fond of. He is everything that Bruce Wayne isn’t, and his young age makes him more relatable to a lot of younger audiences while carrying the weight of the Batman mantle.
Though the fate of the rumored title is still covered with the fog of uncertainty, one thing is sure, after the Suicide Squad failure, a new Batman game would be a warm welcome revival for a lot of fans. If Rocksteady embraces this direction, the Arkham franchise could evolve beyond its traditional roots and re-establish itself as the defining force in the superhero gaming industry once again.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
