Highlights
- The current state of the DC universe is uncertain, with a major change needed to keep fans interested in the cinematic and gaming aspects.
- DC is slowing down its video game production and is likely waiting until James Gunn's new DC universe starts before releasing more games, to ensure a cohesive universe and capitalize on the excitement of new movies and TV shows.
The DC universe is in a bit of a weird spot right now. Obviously, the Snyderverse didn't quite go as well as DC higher-ups would have hoped, and it's been clear for a good while now that a major change needed to happen to keep fans interested in the cinematic DC universe. That major change came at the end of last year, when DC announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be taking over the studio's movie, TV, and animation divisions, and in January of this year, Gunn announced a full reboot of the DC entertainment universe, along with a slate of projects.
But things haven't been quite as cut and dry as that. It's currently a little unclear just what's going to be carried over from the current DC universe to the next one, with movies like Blue Beetle and the upcoming Aquaman 2 muddying the waters quite a bit. This confusion only grows stronger when fans hop over to the video game side of DC, where there's really not a lot happening right now, and that seems like it's going to continue for a while, probably until James Gunn's new DC universe starts to roll out properly.
DC Games Might Be Taking a Hiatus Until Gunn's New DCU Arrives
DC's Current Gaming Output is Minimal
DC hasn't had the best few years when it comes to the video game landscape. Released right at the end of last year, Gotham Knights was a pretty huge disappointment for everyone involved, from the fans to the developers to the Warner Bros. higher-ups, and it seems like it's taught DC a big lesson about multiplayer loot-based games. So, when Rocksteady's long-awaited Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was revealed at the start of the year to be a multiplayer looter-shooter with live-service elements, fans weren't too keen, and DC and Rocksteady quickly delayed the game to next year.
Aside from the troubled Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, DC really doesn't have all that much in the way of announced video games. The Wolf Among Us 2 is technically under the DC banner, and fans are presumably looking forward to that long-awaited sequel quite a bit, but that release isn't really on the same level as something like a Batman: Arkham title.
DC also has a Wonder Woman game in the works over at Monolith, though fans haven't seen anything from that in almost two years now. It's clear that DC is slowing down its video game production, and there may be a good reason for that.
DC Is Probably Waiting Until James Gunn's DCU Starts Before Making More Games
At the same time as announcing a bunch of new movies and TV shows back in January of this year, James Gunn also stated that this new DC universe would encompass DC's future video games, specifically mentioning that these newly canon DC characters will appear across all forms of media, suggesting that this upcoming version of Superman, Batman, and the rest of the ensemble will feature in video games as well.
DC already has some pretty big projects in the works with these new character iterations including a Superman movie, a Batman and Robin movie, a Supergirl movie, and a Creature Commandos TV show. And if any of these new character versions are set to show up in future video games, then it would make sense that DC doesn't want to muddy the waters beforehand with a slew of non-canon games.
While it would be great to see more DC games soon, it might actually be best for DC to continue to hold off and wait for James Gunn's new universe to properly start, hopefully giving the DC gaming sphere a more cohesive universe to work with, while also cashing in on the excitement of each new movie or TV show. In the meantime, live-service titles seem to be what WB Games is interested in most at the moment, and it will be intriguing to see how that plays out.
DC
DC is a brand of superhero comics, television shows, movies, video games, merchandise, and more. The company owns the rights to popular characters like Batman, The Suicide Squad, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, and many more.
