Rocksteady’s Next Batman Game Reportedly Takes Shape After the Failure of Suicide Squad

Rocksteady Studios may be preparing to return to the Batman Arkham formula, according to a new unverified rumor circulating within the DC gaming community. The report claims the studio previously considered both a Batman Beyond project and a Justice League game, but neither idea progressed beyond the planning stage. 

Instead, Rocksteady is allegedly moving forward with another Batman game starring Bruce Wayne. If the report is accurate, the project could return the studio to the familiar territory that made the Arkham series so successful while still introducing a new version of Gotham City.

The information comes from Fortress of DC, a DC-focused account that claims to have internal sources and has previously discussed other Warner Bros. Games projects. 

The account presented its information as an update on Rocksteady and the future of its Batman franchise, although none of these details have been officially confirmed by Warner Bros. Games. That distinction is important because the project has not formally announced itself, and several details remain unclear. 

The report also claims Rocksteady had thought about making a Batman Beyond game before deciding against it. A Justice League project was also apparently discussed internally, meaning the studio may have explored several different directions for its next major superhero game.

Neither project apparently went beyond the planning stages, and as such, Rocksteady never got to the point where either concept was put into full production. Things changed after the studio spoke with DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn, the report says.

That alleged change of course supposedly came after the disastrous reception and commercial performance surrounding Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The live-service game took years to make but ultimately failed to meet expectations and became a major setback for the studio and Warner Bros. Games. 

Following that outcome, the report claims Rocksteady decided to take a safer approach with its next project. That would mean returning to Batman and Bruce Wayne rather than continuing with an entirely different concept.

The reported Batman project is particularly intriguing because there is still no clear answer regarding where it fits within the Arkham timeline. 

It could be a prequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum, a sequel to Batman: Arkham Knight, or an entirely new continuity. There is also speculation that the game could exist separately from the established Arkham timeline altogether. The source does not provide enough information to determine which direction Rocksteady is actually taking.

What the rumor does claim is that Bruce Wayne will once again be the main protagonist. That would be a major change from the direction Rocksteady explored with Suicide Squad, where Batman was no longer the central playable character. 

Returning to Bruce would also immediately give the studio access to the character, world, and gameplay systems that helped establish the Arkham franchise. The report further claims that the new game will feature the largest Gotham City map Rocksteady has created.

A large Gotham would give Rocksteady plenty of room to expand on the open-world design introduced in Batman: Arkham Knight. That game already allowed players to travel between several sections of Gotham using Batman's gadgets and the Batmobile, but the rumored project could push the scale considerably further. 

The report also claims that the Batmobile will return, although it apparently will not function exactly as it did in Arkham Knight. No details have been provided about what will change with the vehicle.

The Batmobile has always been one of the more divisive parts of Arkham Knight, so changing how it works could give Rocksteady an opportunity to address some of the criticism surrounding the previous game. At the same time, keeping the vehicle in the game would allow the studio to retain one of the defining features of its version of Gotham. 

Another interesting detail concerns the game's development timeline. 

A separate account, Just Xavier, reportedly claimed that the new Arkham project only entered major development in 2025. That account questioned whether a game featuring the largest Gotham City ever created could realistically be ready between 2028 and 2029 if full production only began relatively recently. 

The rumored project is also said to be using Unreal Engine 5 rather than the older technology used for the previous Arkham titles. That could allow Rocksteady to build on some of its existing work while taking advantage of newer development tools. 

One possibility raised in the report is that the studio could expand or heavily modify the existing Arkham Knight version of Gotham instead of creating every part of the city from scratch. Whether this is actually the case is unknown, but reusing certain assets might possibly help with development time.

The game's setting could also determine how much of the previous Gotham can be reused. If the game is a sequel to Arkham Knight, Rocksteady could potentially build directly on the established world and characters. 

A reboot or prequel would provide more freedom to redesign Gotham, while a project set within James Gunn's DC Universe would introduce an entirely different set of considerations. The rumor does not settle this question, and Warner Bros. Games has not officially announced the game's continuity.

The same source also claims that Warner Bros. Games has a major release strategy taking shape for the coming years. 

According to the report, the company's biggest franchises are expected to receive major releases around 2027 and 2028, with Hogwarts Legacy 2 and Batman being highlighted as two of the major projects. If the rumored development timeline is accurate, a Batman game arriving around 2028 would fit within that window. 

The report also mentions that WB Games Montréal is allegedly developing a separate Superman game. Combined with the previously canceled Wonder Woman project from Monolith Productions, this paints an intriguing picture of Warner Bros. Games' former plans for its major DC heroes. 

The apparent idea was to have Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman each receive their own standalone games. Wonder Woman was eventually canceled alongside the closure of Monolith Productions, leaving Batman and the rumored Superman project as the remaining pieces of that potential strategy.

One particularly interesting possibility is whether the Nemesis system could survive despite Monolith's closure. That system was a big part of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, letting enemies remember their encounters with the player and build up personal rivalries. 

The rumor suggests that the new Batman project could potentially use the technology. A system like that could fit naturally into a Batman game, particularly if Rocksteady wants Gotham to feel more reactive to the player's actions.

There is also the larger question of Warner Bros.' future ownership and how that could affect its gaming division. 

The rumor involves Paramount’s purported plans to buy Warner Bros., including its games business, and that the deal could close around 2027 or 2028. If that happens, Warner Bros. Games could eventually operate under a different corporate structure. 

A game that is tightly connected to a cinematic universe could face additional complications because game development can take several years, while movies generally move through production on a much shorter timeline. A Batman game could spend five or six years in development while the DC movies around it change direction several times. 

Keeping the game in its continuity would give Rocksteady more freedom and reduce the possibility of storylines contradicting one another. It would also protect the project from potential changes to the DC Universe following any future corporate restructuring.

For now, all these details are unconfirmed. Rocksteady has not officially revealed its next game, Warner Bros. Games has not announced a new Batman title, and the claims about Batman Beyond, Justice League, the size of Gotham, the Batmobile, or a 2028-2029 release window remain unverified. 

Still, the idea of Rocksteady returning to Bruce Wayne after Suicide Squad makes sense as a potential direction, particularly if Warner Bros. wants the studio to rebuild confidence in one of its biggest gaming franchises. If this projeis really in development, fans may have to wait a while before Rocksteady showshow what it has been working on.