It’s fast approaching four years now since Batman: Arkham Knight, Rocksteady’s last big title (apart from the decidedly smaller Batman: Arkham VR) released, and all eyes are on the studio for any hint as to its next game. After its success with the Batman Arkham games, it seems likely that Rocksteady Studios would’ve been asked by Warner Bros to stay in the DC Comics universe, but what could its next game be? If the current rumor is correct, the studio may be working on a Suicide Squad game in the style of Destiny or The Division, and the developers may be prepping for a reveal in June.
The supposed leak was originally posted on 4chan (no, don’t roll your eyes just yet) and reposted on ResetEra. If it’s real, it shows a marketing plan for a DC Comics-based online game for the game’s big reveal on June 4, which would actually be just prior to E3 (which begins June 9 with the Xbox conference). The leak specifically mentions multiple trailers, including a CGI one, and a “live gameplay presentation,” so it’s possible June 4 will be the announcement by CGI trailer and the remaining videos and gameplay will appear during E3.
Here are some of the rumored details we’ve noted from the leak, which you should all take with a pinch of salt:
- CGI reveal trailer: This will be created by Blur Studio, who specialize in striking trailers for videogames. They made the CGI trailers for the previous Batman Arkham games as well as Destiny 2. The announcement trailer will likely feature several villains, but the only confirmed one is Batman villain Ra’s Al Ghul (last seen looking very ill and possibly dead in the Batman Arkham Knight DLC), who will be the subject of a pre-order “timed exclusive raid.” In an interesting bit of detail, the trailer will use the song ‘Perfect Day’ by Lou Reed.
- Two further trailers, based on Gotham and Star City: There will be two in-game trailers showing off two of the cities in the game, Batman’s Gotham City and Green Arrow’s Star City. Gotham will apparently be the focus for a playable version that press will be able to try out at E3. The Star City trailer, also called “the Arrow trailer,” may appear on a later live-stream rather than at E3.
- Gameplay presentation at E3: This contains “pre-recorded gameplay and UI,” as well as pre-recorded developer chat recorded over it. Info to be covered supposedly includes the “core gameplay” of team work, custom variations, combat, super powers, and loot. This sounds a lot like a loot shooter such as Destiny, which backs up previous rumors we’ve heard. Additionally, the presentation will show off the city hub areas, multiplayer, and “multiple storylines/paths,” which sounds interesting.
- Release date: The game’s release is currently set, according to the leak, as “early 2020.” It talks about early access in some form, and a possible Premium Edition with “a few iconic superhero costumes” and “a bit of in-game currency.”
You may notice two things missing from that list, and even from the original leak: the name of the game’s developer, and confirmation that it’ll be a Suicide Squad game. We’ve revealed previously how it’s very likely that Rocksteady’s next game will be a Destiny-like loot shooter, so that lines up with previous rumors. Furthermore, the other main studio making DC Comics games is Batman Arkham Origins developer WB Montreal, and its current focus seems to be the next Batman game.
As for Suicide Squad, this idea comes from two points. Firstly, a supposed insider elsewhere on ResetEra said that Rocksteady took over the Suicide Squad game from WB Montreal, which seems legit according to Twitter user James Sigfield, who is the source of our second point. He sent a DM asking if Suicide Squad was Rocksteady’s next game to Jason Schreier at Kotaku, who has said previously that he’s fairly sure he knows what Rocksteady are up to, and usually debunks things like this immediately. However, in this case he replied “I wouldn’t wanna spoil it,” which suggests it’s possibly close to the mark.
Obviously, all of this should be taken as rumor until we’re staring at the trailer ourselves, but it certainly sounds exciting. It’s been a long time since Rocksteady had anything to show, and after debunking the possibility that it was making a Superman game, we can’t wait to find out what the studio is actually working on.
