It is no secret {that a} online game primarily based on 2008’s The Dark Knight was in improvement at one level, earlier than the plug was in the end pulled. Footage of the game–which was being developed by the now-shuttered Monolith Productions–has surfaced on-line over time, and this week, a brand new video confirmed how this Batman journey would have taken a cue from the live-action movies with its dynamic soundtrack.
As a part of a treasure trove of supplies uncovered by retro video games fanatic and archivist Mar Talida, the footage showcases early cinematic footage, recreation design paperwork, idea artwork, and far more. In case you have an ear for online game soundtracks, there’s even video of the game’s dynamic audio system and the way it might change relying on the state of affairs that gamers discovered themselves in. Batman live-action movies have had iconic soundtracks, and Monolith’s recreation used a few of Hans Zimmer’s Dark Knight soundtrack to reveal this characteristic.
It is value noting that each one of this content material got here from very early within the pre-production of the Batman game–codenamed Venture Apollo–as the belongings have been dated to round 2009-2010 and naturally look rougher than the 2024 leak.
I’ve recovered a cache of paperwork and movies from the pre-production section of Venture Apollo, a canceled Batman recreation Monolith labored on for Warner Bros. The supplies, from 4/2009 to 1/2010, have been in deleted sectors of a HDD used at a recreation firm. archive.org/particulars/proj… 1/9🧵
— MrTalida (@mrtalida.bsky.social) January 13, 2026 at 1:48 AM
Whereas the mission was finally scrapped and parts of it have been used to develop Center-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its signature Nemesis System, Batman followers weren’t neglected within the chilly due to Rocksteady’s in style Arkham sequence of video games. Since then, issues have modified drastically at writer Warner Bros. Video games, because it has weathered main organizational shifts and will quickly have a brand new proprietor within the type of Netflix or Paramount. Rocksteady is alleged to be engaged on a brand new single-player Batman recreation, and DC studio boss James Gunn has mentioned some “actually attention-grabbing” initiatives are coming sooner or later.
Happily, Batman returns later this yr in Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. The new Lego recreation seems to be prefer it’s taking just a few pages out of the Arkham playbook, and it will be launched on Might 29 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Sequence X|S, with a Swap 2 model coming at a later date.