E3 2019 brought with it plenty of surprises and welcome reveals, and some of the announcements were related to major comic books, most notably our first look at Marvel’s Avengers, the big game based on Marvel’s biggest superhero team. But the one major franchise that many were expecting a game from was DC Comics, with games based on Batman, Superman, the Suicide Squad and Justice League all rumored. We’ve covered why the next game from Batman Arkham Knight creators Rocksteady wasn’t at E3, but why was the next Batman Arkham missing?
The next Batman Arkham game is supposedly coming from Batman Arkham Origins creators WB Montreal, who were created specifically to make DC Comics games so to give Rocksteady time to make its next epic title. It’s been six years since Arkham Origins, and we still haven’t heard about what WB Montreal are working on. However, the new game’s developers have been teasing a new Batman Arkham title based on the Court of Owls storyline from the comics, so it’s certainly coming. But where is it?
Next Batman Arkham missing from E3 2019, but why?
While it was less obvious and more subtle than Rocksteady CEO Sefton Hill’s outright confirmation the studio’s next game would not be at E3 2019, WB Montreal game director Geoff Ellenor also confirmed the same thing prior to the show.
Waiting for #GodzillaMovie to start. In Montreal. Which for concerned parties is in a theater. NOT an airplane. In case you needed to know in some way. 😎
— Geoff Ellenor 🇨🇦🎮 (@gellenor) June 6, 2019
He later followed this up with “I promise that info about our upcoming projects is 100% worth waiting for. Hang tight till we’re ready but it’s gonna be hot.” In other words, he is echoing what Sefton Hill said about Rocksteady’s next game: the studios simply aren’t ready to show off what they are working on. The only difference is, we’ve got a firmer knowledge of what WB Montreal are working on, namely the next Batman Arkham title.
As Batman Arkham Knight released in 2015 prior to E3 that year, it’s now been six years since a DC Comics game was shown off at E3 (Injustice 2 and LEGO DC Super-Villains didn’t go). By now if and when a new Batman game comes out, it may not even be on a current-gen console. Hopefully DC won’t let Marvel hog all the gaming glory for much longer.