Warner Bros. Is Planning A Lot More DC Games
Warner Bros. is shining the Bat-Signal brightly above the Gotham City skyline, as it sounds like the studio is far from done with its DC Comics content. If you loved Rocksteady's Arkham games, are psyched for the developer's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and can't wait for WB Montreal's Gotham Knights, you're in luck.
Back in 2009, Rocksteady broke the mould of superhero video games with Batman: Arkham Asylum. As well as spinning off into a critically acclaimed trilogy, Arkham also went on to inspire the likes of Insomniac's Spider-Man and Gotham Knights being something of a spiritual successor to Rocksteady's world. Seeing the potential, Warner Bros. is ready to expand.
Are More DC Games On The Way?
Click to enlargeThe massive $43 billion merger of Warner Media and Discovery is already having a knock-on effect, with CEO David Zaslav putting his sights on overhauling the entire DC catalogue. Although most have taken that to mean the already rebranded Worlds of DC and its sprawling slate of everything from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom to Blue Beetle, it also includes gaming.
As reported by Variety, Warner Bros. is ready to bolster its gaming output. The site reiterates: "The company believes that DC must do more to grow its approach to comic book fare, including bolstering gaming." After Walter Hamada took over DC Films from Jon Berg and Geoff Johns in 2018, WB noticed an improvement in critical and commercial success. With the studio wanting some version of its own Kevin Feige (who oversees the Marvel Cinematic Universe), Hamada could play into its future.
At the time of writing, there are just four games in the works from Warner Bros. Interactive, with Kill the Justice League and Gotham Knights coming alongside The Wolf Among Us 2 and a mysterious Wonder Woman project. With three of these being in the DC sphere, a lot of WB's gaming time is already being taken up by the Caped Crusader and Metropolis Marvel.
What DC Games Would We Like To See?
We'll have to wait and see whether the mistakes of the past will continue to haunt Warner Bros. We've already spoken about the potential of Insomniac building a Marvel Gaming Universe for Sony, but WB doesn't have the best history with world-building. The panned DC Extended Universe was a lesson in how NOT to copy the MCU, but with the world's highest-grossing franchise once again being mentioned in Warner Bros.' DC plan, let's hope we take our time.
In terms of where we go next, the world is our comic book oyster. The easy sell would be another Gotham Knights or spin-off from Kill the Justice League. Seeing the success of James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, we'd love to see more rogues join the ranks of Task Force X. Also, where is the long-rumoured Injustice 3 these days? Either way, it's good news if you love kicking the butts of grunts while wearing spandex. Only time will tell whether we've got another Arkham on our hands or it's just another Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
