Superhero fans hoping to fight crime in the DC Universe are in luck next year. WB Games Montreal's Gotham Knights and Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League are currently set to hit shelves in 2022. Both games will have four playable characters and share another interesting trait — they are Batman-adjacent games without Batman.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will focus on Harley Quinn and the rest of Task Force X's attempts to bring down an evil version of Superman. Gotham Knights will see Batgirl, Robin, Red Hood, and Nightwing take on the Court of Owls. Here's why neither game will have Batman operating in their own universes, but also why game studios may be interested in letting the Dark Knight sit tight for some time.
Suicide Squad And The Fate Of Bruce Wayne
For a game subtitled Kill the Justice League, Batman's appearance in the upcoming Suicide Squad game seems unlikely. Kill the Justice League will be set in Rocksteady's Arkham universe, so a few ret-cons have already taken place. Deadshot has a different design than the one seen in Arkham Origins and the Assault on Arkham animated movie. King Shark also appears to be back and redesigned after his particularly gruesome death in Assault on Arkham, where he falls victim to one of the Squad's explosive collars.
One element unlikely to be retconned, however, is Batman's retirement at the end of Arkham Knight. The last Arkham game saw Batman's identity revealed to Gotham City, leading him to activate "Knightfall Protocol," faking both his death and Alfred Pennyworth's. Though Arkham Knight's secret ending hints at either Batman's return or his replacement, its more likely that this is an intentionally ambiguous ending or will be dealt with in a future Arkham, game rather than a spin-off like Suicide Squad.
Rocksteady has some particularly good reasons to leave Batman behind after the ending to Arkham Knight. The Arkham games helped define Batman in gaming. They set the standard for combat, storytelling, and created a rough aesthetic continuity between Batman: The Animated Series and the Arkhamverse that included many returning voice actors. Though Rocksteady has the best shot of any studio when it comes to continuing Batman's story, it has also established Arkham's version of Harley Quinn as a strong enough character to carry a game in her own right.
Gotham Knights And The Future Of Batman Games
WB Games Montreal developed Arkham Origins, but Gotham Knights shares a lot in common with the Arkham games despite being set in a different continuity. In this universe, Bruce Wayne was recently killed in an explosion, leaving the other members of the Bat Family to protect Gotham from old supervillains and a mysterious new group called the Court of Owls.
The Gotham Knights universe would likely struggle to include Batman while trying to forge an identity distinct from the Arkhamverse, so the focus on secondary Batman characters is likely a smart move. The question for Batman fans, however, is when (if ever) they'll get to play as Batman himself again.
For now, the answer is unclear. There are no confirmed upcoming games with Batman as the main character. With the cancellation of Ben Affleck's Batman movie the character is going through a tumultuous time. Though it was based largely on the animated show, Arkham Asylum's release just a year after the Dark Knight was no coincidence.
Similarly, the release of a Suicide Squad game after Margot Robbie's portrayal of Harley Quinn onscreen has undoubtedly influenced the decision to make Kill the Justice League now. Fans may have to wait until Batman undergoes a similar revival before a new game series can bring back Bruce Wayne and stick the landing. With Robert Pattinson set to portray the character in The Batman and Michael Keaton returning as Bruce Wayne in The Flash, however, fans may be in luck.
Gotham Knights will release on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X in 2022. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will release for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X in 2022.