Concept art from a canceledBatman: Arkhamgame has surfaced, and the project being shelved only further throws into question Warner Brothers' creative decisions regarding the property in recent years. WB Games has published all fourBatman: Arkhamgames – the main trilogy from Rocksteady Studios andArkham Origins, the prequel developed by WB Games Montreal. The latter was, at one time, set to create another game in the continuity, set 10 years afterArkham Knight.
Rocksteady’sArkham Asylumset a new standard for superhero video games, and the rest of the series followed in its excellence, albeit withOriginsandKnighthaving more shaky reputations than the generally belovedAsylumandCity. Following the conclusion of its trilogy in 2015, Rocksteady shifted focus to theill-fatedSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, a victim of the live-service push that has plagued a whole console generation thus far. WB Games Montreal’s canceledBatman: Arkhamgame is a painful reminder of what could have been.
Everything We Know About The Canceled Batman Game
Starring Damian Wayne
The canceledBatman: Arkhamgame was set to feature Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne and former Robin, as the current Batman, with an older Bruce Wayne serving as his mentor. Concept art from the untitled game, known in development asProject Sabbath, was shared by theBatman Arkham VideosTwitter account (viaMP1st). The artwork is by character artist Rodrigue Pralier, former WB Games Montreal employee and current artist at Free Range Games.
Click here to see the full concept art gallery on Pralier’s ArtStation.
The art shows Damian in a batsuit but without a cowl, and an older Bruce Wayne, both with and without a beard and wearing a large leg brace in a full-body render. There are also early versions of Killer Croc and the Huntress, as well as another, unspecified character who was likely meant to be the Dollmaker.
Project Sabbathpreviously leaked in 2019, albeit with some conflicting information. The above tweet claims “it probably wasn’t set in the Arkhamverse,” but previous information about the game indicates the contrary. Older leaked images of the game’s setting and information fromMP1stseem to agree thatProject Sabbathwas set to be the fifthArkhamgame, and was taking heavy inspiration fromBatman Beyond. The concept art of an older Bruce Wayne does look very similar to WB Games Montreal’s take on the Arkhamverse iteration of the character seen inArkham Origins.
The canceled game would have substitutedBatman Beyond’s Terry McGinnis for Damian Wayne, who is Bruce Wayne’s only biological child in the comics; Talia al Ghul is Damian’s mother. It would appear thatProject Sabbathwas canceled in favor of thedivisiveGotham Knights, which does not take place in the canonical Arkhamverse.Gotham Knightsfeatures three of Damian’s adoptive siblings, two of whom were formerly Robin themselves: Dick Grayson as Nightwing, Jason Todd as Red Hood, and Tim Drake as Robin.
I Don’t Understand Any Of WB’s Decisions
Chasing Live-Service Money
Gotham Knightsis a passable game, but manyArkhamfans likely would have rather seen WB Games Montreal receive the green light to finishProject Sabbath, which seems to have been envisioned as another single-player entry. The decision was likely handed down by Warner Bros. Games, the publishing label that owns the Montreal-based developer. WB Games also happens to own Rocksteady, and the company’s decisions continue to only grow more confusing.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewas clearly an attempt to capitalize on the live-service market, but ended up being amajor financial disaster. Rumors claimRocksteady has returned toBatmanfor its next game, but WB Games seems not to have learned its lesson. Monolith Productions’Wonder Womangame was canceled– alongside the much more serious closure of the development house – and nowHogwarts Legacy 2may be a multiplayer game, with job postings for Avalanche Software referencing an “online multiplayer RPG.”
In addition toSuicide Squad, WB Games had another live-service failure in thebungled re-release ofMultiVersus.
Why WB Games would look atHogwarts Legacy,2023’s best-selling game, and decide to move away from its single-player formula is beyond me. A game in the vein ofBatman Beyond, a single-playerWonder Womangame, and a straightforward follow-up toHogwarts Legacyall seem like surefire successes, yet none of them are happening.
The live-service market is incredibly crowded, and despite multiple high-profile failures – including one from WB itself – publishers are still desperately chasing those profits at the cost of developers' livelihoods. It would be almost funny how badly Warner Bros. appears to be fumbling its properties if it weren’t so enraging to see developers laid off because of it.
A Follow-Up To Arkham Knight Is Sorely Needed
Please Let The Rocksteady Rumors Be True
Following 2015’sArkham Knight, it was understandable that Rocksteady might want to move on to other projects, but the development talent there ended up languishing onSuicide Squad. WB Games Montreal’sArkham Originshas its naysayers, but at least the prequel is well within the series' established, successful formula. The developer had the chops to make a strong run at the next Arkhamverse game.
It’s baffling that Rocksteady’s illustrious trilogy was released within the span of six years, and here we are a decade later, without any newBatmangames in a similar vein (discounting VR titles;Batman: Arkham Shadowwas well-received).Arkham Knightand its incredibly realized Gotham are practically begging for a follow-up, but instead of a genuinely fascinating turn to focus on Damian Wayne assuming the cowl, we got two lackluster co-op games.
There’s still hope that Rocksteady’s rumored newBatmangame is real, but after so long, it’s difficult to know if a return to form can be pulled off. Warner Bros. has spent so long misguiding the franchise’s games, so who’s to say the publisher won’t fumble it again. TheBatman: Arkhamseries almost continued with a genuinely interesting idea set 10 years afterArkham Knight, and it remains to be seen if the Arkhamverse can actually recover.
Sources:Batman Arkham Videos/Twitter(viaMP1st),Rodrigue Pralier/ArtStation
Batman: Arkham Knight
Batman: Arkham Knight is the fourth main installment in Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham universe. It acts as a direct sequel to Batman: Arkham City and takes place approximately nine months after the events of Arkham City. In this release, Batman must contend with a mysterious enemy known as the Arkham Knight, while also tangling with an array of his most dangerous enemies.
