The Batman: Arkham Series is arguably one of the Caped Crusader’s most notable and popular appearances. The quadrilogy seemed to have concluded with 2015’s Arkham Knight which (spoiler alert) ended with Bruce Wayne and Alfred walking into Wayne Manor before it exploded. This being because Bruce was unmasked earlier in the game by Scarecrow. Now it seems someone has donned the cowl again. While Arkham Knight ended allowing the Batman to return to being a legend, Arkham Shadow might take the series somewhere else. Considering it’s been nine years since Knight released, who knows what’s in store?
From the teaser trailer, the most important point is probably that the game will only be available on the Meta Quest 3, meaning the game will be entirely VR. Considering that after Knight came the smaller Batman: Arkham VR, which is technically part of the series, removed all aspects of combat, it’s not the biggest shock to see the series return to VR. However, the developing studio is no longer Rocksteady. Instead, Camouflaj – known for Iron Man VR – will be partnering with Oculus Studios to make this game for Warner Bros.
Rocksteady’s separation from the Arkham series might have something to do with the failure of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which takes place in the Arkham universe but did not feature Batman at all. The game, which launched just three months ago, was a critical and commercial flop with even Warner Bros. having admitted the game had “fallen short of [their] expectations.” This might have dictated Warner Bros. decision to move forward with Camouflaj instead of Rocksteady. Since the Arkham Shadows game seems to be a return to form for the series in terms of combat – as opposed to Arkham VR’s puzzle-oriented gameplay, Warner Bros. might have been interested in Camouflaj’s previous experience. Players will just have to wait for more information to drop at Summer Game Fest on June 7th. Until then, revisiting some of the classic Arkham games might be nice.