That Batman: Arkham Origins developers WB Games Montreal are working on a new game in the series is probably one of the worst kept secrets in the industry right now. Anticipation for that reveal has been sky-high for a while, and the fact that the developers themselves have been constantly and incessantly teasing the game for months hasn’t helped matters. But WB Games Montreal, it seems, aren’t ready to make the long-awaited announcement just yet.

Taking to Twitter, the studio recently thanked fans for their enthusiasm on their next game, but said – in a roundabout way, and not in as many words – that at this time, they’re not going to reveal the game. They ended their message asking fans to “stay tuned.”

Reports emerged a couple months ago that WB Games were planning on hosting their first ever E3 conference this year, where they would have announced several new games, including the next Arkham title, Rocksteady’s new project, and the Harry Potter RPG that was leaked a couple years ago. With E3 2020 having been cancelled, it remains to be seen how and when these announcements will be made.

https://twitter.com/WBGamesMTL/status/1260591970965229576

The ESA just gave an official confirmation that E3 2020 has been cancelled due to “increased and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus.” Of course, this is a decision that affects several developers and publishers who may have been planning on making important announcements about upcoming games at the event. One such publisher, as it turns out, was going to be Warner Bros.

In a report covering the event’s cancellation, Kotaku’s Jason Schreier spilled the beans that WB Games was planning on hosting its own E3 conference this year, which would have been a first for them. At the show, they were going to announce three megaton games- a new Batman title, a Harry Potter RPG, and the new game being developed by Rocksteady Studios.

There’s been a lot of anticipation surrounding all of these games. Speculation about the next Rocksteady game has been rampant for a long time, especially in the absence of an announcement at several major past events. The Harry Potter RPG in question was leaked back in 2018, was reportedly in development at Avalanche Studios, and recent reports indicated that it was due for a reveal soon. Finally, the next Batman game, in development at Arkham Origins studio at WB Games Montreal, has been at the centre of countless leaks and teases in recent months (and even years).

It remains to be seen whether WB Games will now hold their own digital event to reveal these games or will follow other plans. Either way, the long and arduous wait for these three announcements continues.

But there are other factors at play that make that wait seem even more unbearable. With it looking quite likely that Rocksteady are working on something that isn’t a new Batman game, it has fallen to Batman: Arkham Origins developers WB Games Montreal to take up that mantle and take the series forward. But Arkham Origins came out in 2013, which means that WB Montreal have been silent for seven years.

Well, not completely silent. What’s made the wait for the next Batman’s release – or even announcement – even more excruciating is the fact that WB Montreal have been teasing something for a couple of years now– something that they’ve never explicitly said is a Batman game, but based on all the teases (and numerous leaks) is definitely going to be just that. The fact that the intensity of these teases has only ratcheted up in recent weeks hasn’t made things any easier either.

But while we’re probably going to have to wait who-knows-how-long until they’re ready to openly talk about their new game that may-or-may-not-be-but-most-definitely-is a new Batman title, we can at least look at all the teases, leaks, and rumours about it and try and decipher what it’s going to be about. Here, that’s exactly what we’re going to be doing. Though these are all going to be educated guesses (or attempts at them, at any rate), do remember that these are still just guesses– so don’t blame us for not accurately predicting things if a few months from now it turns out that the game will see Batman and Mr. Freeze playing ice hockey while Poison Ivy and a disgruntled Robin watch from the sidelines.

The one thing that we can all be quite confident of even in the absence of an official announcement is that the Court of Owls is going to be heavily involved. For those who don’t know what that is, the Court of Owls is a shadowy criminal organization that first appeared in Batman’s very first arc as part of DC’s The New 52 continuity. Co-created by Scott Syder and Greg Capullo, the Court of Owls were revealed to be an organization with endless influence and resources that had been pulling the strings in Gotham from shadows for centuries, effectively having been controlling the city since the 1600s, thanks in large part to extremely skilled and capable assassins called Talons.

Since the very first day WB Games Montreal began teasing their next game, the Court of Owls has been front and centre and dominating speculation, while several subsequent leaks have suggested that they will be heavily involved in the story as well. The most conclusive piece of evidence comes from Court of Owls co-creator Scott Snyder himself, who tweeted about a video game adaptation of his work in September 2019, before promptly deleting that tweet.

And so, the next Batman game being focused on the Court of Owls is as close to being a lock as it can be in the absence of an official confirmation. But how exactly is the game going to make use of this formidable foe? What we have to work with here is far less conclusive than what we’ve talked about till now, but we can still make guesses based on previous teases for the game.

Just a few days into 2020, WB Games Montreal dropped one of their meatiest teases for the game when they shared three separate parts of a single image on various social media platforms, images that then came together to form a single crest. That crest, as luck would have it, looks very reminiscent of the Gotham City Police Department badge, from the eagle on top of the crest, to the wreaths on the sides, to the scales of justice between the wreaths. That latter specifically would point to a law-related entity- putting two and two together and arriving at GCPD as the answer here is not much of a leap.

But of course GCPD will figure into a game about Batman, right? How the hell does it tell us what the Court of Owls are doing and how they’re going to figure into the game? Now, this is purely conjecture, but as a shadowy organization that has been controlling Gotham from behind the scenes for centuries, Illumati-style, is it not possible that their undue influence may have found a way to corrupt the GCPD as well? And if the Court of Owls were indeed butting heads with the Dark Knight, might it not be possible that they could divert the GCPD and its resources into halting the crime-stopping activities of said Knight?

Speaking of Knight- a phrase that WB Games Montreal have been using with many of their teases for the game is “Capture the Knight”– a clever if obvious play on words, it’s also entirely possible that they’re being very literal with its meaning here. Corrupted by the Court of Owls, the GCPD could be hellbent on capturing and stopping the Dark Knight of Gotham, which means that the Bat might have to go up against the Law as he fights off the criminal organization. It wouldn’t be the first time a Batman story sees the Caped Crusader butting heads with the police, though the context here might end up being much more sinister than it typically has been in the past.

And it’s possible, in fact, that that won’t be all the Batman will have to deal with. He may very well have his hands full in terms of the people trying to bring him down, and people, in turn, that he has to stop himself. That, too, is something that we’re basing on a WB Montreal tease- one that followed the GCPD badge tease very shortly, in fact.

A mysterious webpage on the studio’s site shows the two crests they have shown through teases up until now slotted into a pattern that has the space for at last eight more crests. One of these is the aforementioned GCPD crest (assuming that that is what it is, of course), while the other looks very reminiscent of the Demon’s Head, and Ra’s al Ghul’s League of Assassins. And while the slots that are still open in that pattern might be pointing to more weeks and months of a drip feed of vague teases from WB Montreal, the entire picture might also be hinting at the nature of the game itself.

And so, Gotham might find itself in the midst of a good old-fashioned faction war, with the Court of Owls, the League of Assassins, and other groups fighting for supremacy and complete control over the city. Again, this is pure conjecture based on vague teases, and very well might not be accurate, but it is a very interesting idea. Arkham City sort of touched upon this (in a way), with various villains carving out territories of their own within the walled-off prison city, but that never really materialized in any meaningful way as far as gameplay was concerned. If the next Batman game were to do that, it could lead to some very interesting gameplay ideas- maybe it could even blend its faction-warring with something similar to the Nemesis system from Shadow of Mordor.

Finally, there’s another piece of info we can extrapolate from unofficial sources. Leaks have indicated that this game will feature the entire Bat-family as playable characters – which means co-op might be on the cards – and that it is going to be called Batman: Arkham Legacy. While the bit about the Bat-family is quite self-explanatory, the name – if it is an accurate leak – could be indicative of the game’s central conceit. Because the word “Legacy” in its title might be suggesting that the game deals with the aftermath of the Arkham series. Of course, there’s every chance that that isn’t the game’s actual name, or that it doesn’t hold as much meaning as we’re thinking it does- which means there’s every chance that the game is completely removed from the Arkham series’ stories and is doing its own new thing.

So that’s all that we’ve got to work with up until now- leaks, rumours, vague teases, and conjecture based on all of that. Some of it seems pretty likely, with evidence piling on top of evidence, while other bits are on shakier ground and might turn out to be inaccurate. More than anything else, what we need now – after an excruciatingly vague and drawn-out pre-announcement marketing cycle – is an actual announcement, and some proper, concrete information on what the game even is. As always, we remain hopeful that that’ll happen soon- and if it so happens that our (somewhat) educated guesses were on the money, we might just be in for the most exciting Batman game ever.

There’s been no shortage of leaks and speculations about the next Batman game over the past couple of years, and the complete radio silence of both WB Games Montreal and Rocksteady has only kicked those up a notch. The former have been throwing out some infuriating teases every now and then, and it’s likely that there will be even more of those in the near future. Before that happens though, an alleged new leak might have revealed some potentially interesting details about the next Arkham title and what it will lead to.

GWW claims that as per their sources, WB Montreal’s new Batman game is going to be a soft reboot of the series, beginning its own new continuity. Attempts had initially been made to develop a direct sequel to Batman: Arkham Knight, which would have seen Bruce Wayne’s son, Damian Wayne, taking up the mantle of Gotham’s Caped Crusader, though that project was eventually rebooted. That a Damian Wayne game was in development and that it was cancelled are both things that have previously been leaked as well.

WB Games Montreal eventually decided to start fresh and begin a new continuity. Their next game will allegedly release this Fall (some leaks have suggested it will be a primarily next-gen game), and that it will kick of a ew DC Games Universe. As per this leak, the game will be shortly followed by a next-gen DC game from Rocksteady.

Allegedly, a next-gen Superman game is also in development at Warner Bros., though as the studio itself has explicitly confirmed in the past, Rocksteady are not the ones working on it. Additionally, the report also brings up other details on WB Games Montreal’s upcoming new Batman title that have been leaked several times in the past, such as the fact that it will feature a playable Bat-family and feature co-op mechanics, or that its story will focus on the Court of Owls.

It’s best to take this leak – and all leaks coming from unverified and unofficial channels – with a healthy pinch of salt. WB Games Montreal and Rocksteady have both been notoriously silent about whatever it is they’re working on, and who knows how long that silence will go on, so whether or not we’ll be hearing any concrete details about their games in the near future is anyone’s best guess. We can at least keep our fingers crossed though.

The studio and its employees have been teasing their new game for a long time now (to the extent that many are beginning to get frustrated with said teases), and it’s looking that the next Arkham game isn’t too far away (hopefully). And of course, like everyone else, we’ve got our own list of things we wish to see the game do (or not do). In this feature, we’ll be talking about a few such things.

BATMAN VERSUS THE LAW

Over the decades, Batman stories have often seen the Caped Crusader going up against the law, as Gotham City’s cops try to chase down and bring in the masked vigilante, but that’s an angle that the narratives of the Arkham games haven’t really taken. And that’s exactly what we’re hoping the next Batman game – reportedly titled Arkham Legacy – will do. There’s a certain tension that an arc like that adds to any superhero story, especially when it comes to Batman, while it’s also something that would help differentiate the game from previous Arkham titles. It’s also looking very likely that the game will be focused on the Court of Owls as the primary villains, and as a shadowy organization that controls all of Gotham for the shadows, it’s very likely that their undue influence might push the GCPD into declaring Batman an enemy of the law.

NO JOKER

It’s often said that a superhero is only as good as their gallery of villains, and Batman’s incredible lineup of rogues is enough proof of that statement. And while The Joker is by far the best of the best that lineup has to offer, perhaps it’s time to let some of the others enjoy their time under the sun. The Arkham series has seen the Clown Prince of Crime taking up nearly as much of the spotlight as Batman himself, and his excellent portrayal in all four games (thanks to Mark Hamill and Troy Baker) has certainly been a treat to experience. But we feel like we’ve had enough of The Joker in Batman games for a while, and that the next game in the series should focus on other villains. With all the rumours about the Court of Owls, it’s looking like that’s indeed going to be the case, so let’s keep our fingers crossed.

A MORE LIVELY OPEN WORLD

Other than Arkham Asylum, every mainline game in the Arkham series has rocked an open world setting, and while by and large that’s been an excellent decision (especially in terms of what that did for things like atmosphere, content, and traversal), there’s still room for improvement in that area. One of complaints levied at the Arkham games most often is how empty their open world are- and not of activities. No, they’re literally empty. No NPCs, no civilians roaming around in the streets. And while each game has given narrative reasons for why that is the case, it’s something that fans have been hoping will be rectified sooner rather than later. A dynamic open world full of activity and NPCs you can interact with and who can react to the Batman flying around and beating up thugs is what we all want, and hopefully, with the next Batman game, that’s what we’ll get.

NO (OR IMPROVED) BATMOBILE

You saw this one coming, didn’t you? Batman: Arkham Knight drew criticism for a number of things when it first came out, and while its famously horrendous PC launch hogged most of the negative press, the game’s Batmobile sections have also come under quite a bit of fire over the years from both critics and the wider audiences. So of course, that’s an area that we’re hoping the next Batman game will make improvements to. The easiest way to do so would be to not have the Batmobile featured at all, which we wouldn’t mind, but perhaps the developers could try and implement the iconic vehicle in a way that isn’t… you know, bad. The biggest issue with the Batmobile in Arkham Knight was how overused it was, even in places where it made no sense – such as Batmobile-focused puzzles, or the mindless car combat. If the next Batman title does figure out the right way to make the Batmobile an integral part of the experience, it would be significantly better for it.

MORE DETECTIVE STUFF

Batman is, of course, the world’s greatest detective, but most of our time in Arkham games is spent beating criminals to a pulp. And while we certainly enjoy that, we would like Batman’s detective activities to be a greater part of the gameplay experience as well. This is something that Arkham Origins tried its hand at, and for the most part, it did it really well. The fact that that game’s developers are (probably) the ones who’re making the next game in the series fills us with hope and confidence that we might see Batman doing more of that stuff soon.

NEW TRAVERSAL MECHANICS

One of the greatest joys of the Arkham games (besides beating criminals to a pulp, which we mentioned) is using a combination of dive-bombing and grappling to glide around Gotham City like Batman. As great as the traversal mechanics have consistently been in the series though, we’re hoping to see something different in the next game. The next Batman title could just deliver more of the same as far as traversal is concerned, and honestly, that would be perfectly fine. But after having spent four games with those mechanics – mechanics that have been polished to perfection – we’re hoping the series will look to introduce fresh, new, and exciting things and then build upon those.

MULTIPLE PLAYABLE CHARACETRS

The Arkham series has often let players step into the shoes of characters beyond just the Caped Crusader, often even during main story missions, and that’s something that we’re hoping we’ll see more of in the next game. Ideally, that concept will be taken even further, with multiple playable characters all playing an important role in the main story itself, rather than non-Batman people being relegated to side content like they usually have been. Recent rumours have suggested that Arkham Legacy (if that is indeed what it is called) will feature an entire playable Bat-family, so here’s hoping those leaks are accurate.

NO LOCKED ENDINGS

Games locking their true endings behind certain requirements that need to be fulfilled isn’t that uncommon, but when that’s poorly executed, it can be a bit of a bummer. Exhibit A: Arkham Knight, which required players to get 100% completion in the game – which included every single side quest and every single one of those stupid Riddler Trophies – to get the true ending. So the next entry in our Arkham Legacy wishlist is pretty simple- none of that, please. Don’t lock your true ending, and if you do want to do it, do it so that players don’t have to spend upwards of 100 hours completing every tiny little activity available in the game.

NO MICROTRANSACTIONS

“No microtransactions” is something we hope to see in every game, not just Batman, but given the fact that this is a game that’s being developed and published by Warner Bros, we’re even more wary of microtransactions. WB has a knack for cramming its game with aggressive monetization, from Injustice 2 to Shadow of War to Mortal Kombat 11, and one can’t help but be worried that they might try and pull something like that with Batman as well. They haven’t done so in the past with the Arkham games, while one would also think that no publisher would want to do something like that in such a massive property (just look at what happened with Battlefront 2 at launch). Let’s just hope WB agrees with that kind of thinking.

Warner Bros. Montreal has been teasing a new Batman Arkham title for a while. And we mean a while – the first hints appeared as far back as September 2019. However, despite subsequent teases and even a website promising more, it doesn’t seem like an announcement is coming soon.

Then again, plans could change. Insider KC Walsh on Twitter has some new details to share about the game, which apparently isn’t called Batman: Arkham Legacy after all. Walsh also notes that the title is “primarily” a next gen title and you will be able to play as the Batman Family (which echoes similar reports made by seasoned insider Sabi in October 2019).

Interestingly, when asked if the title was a sequel to Batman: Arkham Origins – which WB Games Montreal developed – or Batman: Arkham Knight, Walsh said, “I can not say but you’ll be surprised.” It was also noted that Walsh’s source on this is unknown so take things with an extra grain of salt. So the real question is: When will it be revealed?

“I heard it would be a while and they would keep teasing it like they have been, but with the backlash I could see them drop it sooner,” said Walsh. Perhaps one of those teasers could be at the rumored PlayStation Meeting taking place in February. Maybe a reveal is planned for E3 2020? It’s hard to say but the possibilities are exciting. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

As much as I want to discuss it I can’t, all I’ll say is, it’s got to be a next gen game primarily

— KC Walsh (@TheComixKid) January 12, 2020

I’ve heard rumblings, but I’m done speculating on when they reveal that thing, but I’ve also heard it’s not called Legacy anymore (you’ll know why when it’s revealed) but you do still get to play as the bat fam

— KC Walsh (@TheComixKid) January 12, 2020

I can not say but you’ll be surprised

— KC Walsh (@TheComixKid) January 12, 2020

I can not say anything else, and honestly my source on this is an unknown, unlike others I’ve had

— KC Walsh (@TheComixKid) January 12, 2020

Honestly I don’t know, I heard it would be a while and they would keep teasing it like they have been, but with the backlash I could see them drop it sooner

— KC Walsh (@TheComixKid) January 12, 2020

We’re all excited to play a new Batman: Arkham game again, but it’s fair to say that by this point, most people are beginning to get a little exhausted with the constant teases by developers WB Games Montreal. These teases started all the way back in 2018, leading to the speculation of a new Batman game based on the Court of Owls arc in the New 52 comics.

Even after numerous leaks and rumours have confirmed the existence of the game – reportedly called Batman: Arkham Legacy –  the teases haven’t stopped, with even people who are (presumably) attached to the project joining in on the fun, including the likes of voice actor Roger Craig Smith, and Court of Owls creator Scott Snyder.

And it doesn’t look like WB Games Montreal have any intention of stopping with the teases anytime soon. Over on their website, a mysterious page has gone up for this mysterious new project, with the URL suggesting that it’s name has been “redacted” (which is a word that WB Games Montreal have been using to tease this game quite a bit). The only thing that page shows is an image that seems to have a lot of slots open, with two of those slots housing two symbols that have previously been teased out by WB Montreal- one that was shown yesterday, and another that they showed in September of last year.

What’s even more interesting is that there’s still plenty of slots open to be filled by more symbols – at least eight of them – which would suggest that these cryptic teases of symbols is going to continue for a while. Presumably, once all these slots have been filled out, WB Interactive Entertainment will finally be ready to officially unveil the game. Which, of course, means that it might be a while, depending on how much time passes between each symbol reveal.

So yeah- this is probably a PlayStation 7 game.

Rumours of a new Batman game developed by Arkham Origins developers WB Games Montreal – reportedly called Batman: Arkham Legacy – have refused to die down, and the developers themselves have only fanned those flames with teases of their own. And even though an announcement hasn’t been made in spite of all the teases and rumours, the teases have only continued. 

WB Games Montreal, in fact, just dropped their biggest round of teases. They essentially tweeted out what looks like a crest or a logo in three parts, one each on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, all accompanied with a very familiar caption- “Capture the Knight”. You can view each of those three pieces and what the full logo looks like when those three are put together below. It looks a lot like the GCPD badge (also in the gallery below).

That caption and the image makes it look like the game is going to see the Caped Crusader going up against the authorities, who try to bring the vigilante in- but that is, of course, just speculation on my part. Do remember as well that WB Montreal have teased the game in the past in very similar fashion, and that led to nothing, so there’s no guarantee that an announcement is imminent (though I certainly hope it is). 

WB Montreal themselves aren’t the only ones who’ve teased Batman: Arkham Legacy in the past. The game has also in the past been teased by Roger Craig Smith – who played Batman / Bruce Wayne in Arkham Origins – and by Scott Snyder – who created the Court of Owls arc in the comics, which is reportedly what the game is going to be based on.

It’s that time of the year again. No, not the Electronic Entertainment Expo or Gamescom but The Game Awards! This year sees the industry gathered together to recognize the very best in video games. Tune into it on Twitch, YouTube (via the link below) and so on at 5:30 PM PT.

Games like Death Stranding and Control currently lead the award nominations with Resident Evil 2 and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice also featuring heavily. However, the show will also feature lots of new reveals and announcements. There are 15 world premiere to look forward to with rumors floating about the appearance of a new Crash Bandicoot game and Batman: Arkham Legacy.

Of course, several reveals have been confirmed as well. Final Fantasy 7 Remake will receive a new trailer as will Ghost of Tsushima (which is apparently the longest on the show). It also seems that Valve’s Half-Life: Alyx won’t be appearing though that could just be misdirection on the developer’s part. Stay tuned for coverage of the show and all of the big announcements on GamingBolt.

A new Batman: Arkham game from WB Games Montreal, the developers of Batman: Arkham Origins, has been in the rumour mill for what seems like ages now. And after all this time, it seems like the game might finally get officially unveiled at tonight’s The Game Awards. A very recent rumour suggested just as much, and now, a tease from a source much closer to the game itself has done so as well.

Roger Craig Smith, who voiced Bruce Wayne / Batman in Batman: Arkham Origins recently took to Twitter, telling people to keep their “eyes and ears” on The Game Awards tonight, before teasing that there’s “a little something” that’s “cooking up” at the show for audiences. Smith himself has teased this project multiple times in recent weeks and months, so this isn’t the first time he’s done this.

In fact, multiple other sources have teased this announcement in the recent past as well. Scott Snyder, the creator of the Batman: Court of Owls storyline in the comics, also did so, which is relevant because the rumours keep insisting that the new game is going to be based on the Court of Owls. Meanwhile, WB Games Montreal themselves have also dropped a couple hints here and there of late.

The Game Awards are going to be packed with plenty of new announcements. Including Batman: Arkham Legacy (if it does indeed get announced), there’s going to be a total of 15 new game reveals, of which a new Crash Bandicoot game might also be one. Beyond that, we’re also in for new updates on the likes of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Half-Life: Alyx, Ghost of Tsushima, and more.

https://twitter.com/RogerCraigSmith/status/1205126789552431105