While plenty of reports have mentioned that NetherRealm Studios is working on a third game in the Injustice franchise, a new report courtesy of Mp1st indicates that two of the characters that will be part of the fighting game’s launch-day roster will be Batwoman and Supergirl. The publication was able to find a stunt worker’s resume who has been working with NetherRealm for its recent games.
The resume has also indicated that the motion capture work involves coordination handled by Jake Huang, who has also worked on similar duties during the development of Mortal Kombat 1.
While Supergirl being a part of a potential Injustice 3 shouldn’t surprise anyone, especially since she played such an important role in the story of Injustice 2, Batwoman would be a complete newcomer to the fighting game series. While she was present in the tie-in comic series published by DC when the Injustice games were last coming out, the character never made her way to the fighting games themselves. The comics featured Kate Kane as Batwoman. However, since it has almost been 10 years since the release of Injustice 2, there is a chance that the Injustice 3 version of the character might be entirely new.
One of the rumors surrounding NetherRealm Studios and its next project has revolved around a mysterious playtest that has been going on. While no official announcement has been made, various hints surrounding this playtest, including the fact that it involves a fighting game with 2D gameplay and a AAA production budget, make it likely to be a new Injustice game.
NetherRealm Studios is known for its work on fighting games with 2D gameplay since the 2011 release of Mortal Kombat – essentially a whole-cloth reboot of the classic franchise. Since then, the studio has stayed away from 3D gameplay like we used to see in the mid-2000s with titles like Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. Recent games like Mortal Kombat 11 and Mortal Kombat 1 have all featured 2D gameplay.
Interestingly, another report from earlier this year indicates that, while NetherRealm Studios is likely working on a superhero fighting game, the developer might be moving away from the Injustice branding. If this turns out to be true, there are plenty of newer options from across DC’s comics that the studio could go for, including the more contemporary Absolute Universe setting, which features grittier and more violent reimaginings of several iconic DC superheroes, including Batman and Superman.
However, if the title does end up featuring Supergirl and Batwoman, the Absolute Universe would turn out to be a poor choice, since the comic line hasn’t yet introduced these characters.
In the meantime, the studio’s chief creative officer, Ed Boon, confirmed last month that Injustice 2 has sold more than 9 million copies since its 2017 release. The title is still available to play on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S owners being able to access it through their respective consoles’ backwards compatibility features. For more details, take a look at our review from when Injustice 2 first came out.
