Rocksteady deservedly gets the credit for absolutely nailing the experience of playing Batman in a video game with their Arkham series. However, in 2013, WB Montreal proved that they also had what it takes with the slightly unfairly maligned Arkham Origins. Many accuse the spinoff as being a cash-in that recycled assets from Arkham City, combined with a multiplayer mode that was dead on release. I actually really enjoyed it, though, and I also think it’s got the best plot of all the Arkham games to date.
All this means that I’m very excited about rumors that, while Rocksteady are reportedly hard at work on an open world Superman title, WB Montreal are busy on a follow-up to Arkham Knight. This news comes courtesy of some job listings posted by Time Warner, including one advertising a position as a user researcher for a new games-as-a-service title, together with a senior systemic gameplay programmer who will “work on (WB Games Montreal’s) open-world AAA title based on one of DC Universe’s most popular IPs.”
Understandably, other sites are interpreting this as a hint towards a refinement of Origins multiplayer and a fresh Batman game, and they might be right. But from my perspective, this fits in far more closely with the rumors of a multiplayer, teamwork-focused Justice League title that’d see each player controlling one of DC’s most iconic heroes. That sounds like a dream game, to be honest, but also one that’d be insanely difficult to balance.
After all, what kind of situations can you create in which a player controlling the very mortal Batman must work with another player controlling the all-powerful Superman? Whatever the case, the very fact that they’re advertising these positions suggests that the release of the game is a ways off yet.
I suspect we’ll get to see hints of whatever they’re working on next month at E3, though, and I can hardly wait. It’s been three years since Batman: Arkham Knight and I’m hungry for the same gorgeously designed, fun-as-hell superpower trip that only Rocksteady and WB Games seem able to deliver.
