Batman Arkham Legacyis not a project that is confirmed to be in development yet, but rumors of its imminent reveal spread time and time again (including right before The Game Awards 2019). Nonetheless, developer Warner Bros. Games Montreal has yet to officially say anything regardingBatman Arkham Legacynor has it even confirmed the game to be in existence.
Though the nature of game development is arduous, game marketing is just as significant for the life of a given project regarding sales and the like. Developers must then strike a delicate balance between developing a great game and making sure it releases in time, and the recent spur in rumors may suggest that WB Games Montreal is having trouble with the latter.
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Most information on this project has come from credible sources that supposedly verified internal studio leaks to them. As with any leak or rumor on the internet, skepticism is obligatory but that does not mean certain rumors have no merit to them.
Before the allegeddevelopment ofBatman Arkham Legacy,WB Games Montreal’s last major entry in the series wasBatman Arkham Originsin 2013, meaning that it has been six years since the studio has announced any major title. And for the first time in a long time, WB Games Montreal’s Twitter account was active this year, posting a cryptic looping video back in September that seemed to connect to theBatmanstoryline,Court of Owls.
Director Scott Snyder also seemed to jump in on the hype train for the alleged game, tweeting, “wait for it… #bewarethecourtofowls” along with bat and owl emojis, in response to an anniversary celebration tweet by WB Games Montreal. Though Scott Snyder has been associated with several DC and WB projects in Hollywood, he is not publicly known as being a hype man for upcoming games. For this reason (and probably for legal reasons as well), he deleted the tweet soon after posting it.
The cryptic teases from the studio and the consistent assortment of internet rumors all likely mean that WB Games Montreal is working on something which is more than likelyBatmanrelated. The problem with this game is not in thisBatman’sgameplay or story, for which nothing is known except for some vague hints: the problem isBatman Arkham Legacyhas not even been announced yet.
Video games have a specific consumer related issue where if a given game has too much time between announcement and release, the general audience for said game will eventually have a faded interest in it or may even forget about. This would leave the game to rely on the interest of its hardcore and dedicated audience if that even exists for it, with one example beingThe Last Guardian.
An infamous example of a game that was developed for much longer than necessary was the aptly namedDuke Nukem Forever.The game did not turn it out well to put it lightly.Batman,on the other hand, is not as obscure asDuke Nukemeventually became, so there could be an argument that the audience will be there for the game when it is ready. However, no title is immune from the rapid pace of the industry, and any game can become stale when in the public consciousness for too long.
All of this is to say thatBatman Arkham Legacyshould move from leaks and should be announced soon if it is to maximize on its success. The question of when it will be released is a difficult one if only because WB Games Montreal has not said a word on the project except for a vague tweet. That’s not to say the studio hasn’t been busy, presumably working on this title after working on aLegogame and the Batgirl expansion, but something more solid would help consolidate the game in the minds of fans.
Based on the release timing ofBatman Arkham Origins,this new game could potentially be released right before the launch ofthe PS5 and Xbox Series X.Batman Arkham Originswas released in October, 2013, in North America, a month before the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One. A similar outcome could awaitBatman Arkham Legacy,if only WB were to finally announce it.
Batman Arkham Legacyis rumored to be in development.
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