Rocksteady Studios, the esteemed UK-based developer recognized for its work on the Batman Arkham sequence, is alleged to be returning to Batman for its subsequent challenge following the dismal efficiency of its final recreation, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Past that, WB Games Montreal is now believed to be formulating an thought for a brand new Game of Thrones title. This all got here to mild in a brand new report that make clear future initiatives mentioned to be within the works at WB’s varied recreation growth groups.
A report from Bloomberg mentioned, “Rocksteady is trying to return to Batman for a single-player recreation.” Nevertheless, the report mentioned the sport is “years away.” There isn’t a additional data to go on at this stage.
Rocksteady Studios is greatest recognized for Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009), Batman: Arkham Metropolis (2011), and Batman: Arkham Knight (2015). 2024’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was a giant shift for the developer with its live-service method and multiplayer components. The recreation didn’t discover a large enough viewers, resulting in huge losses for dad or mum firm Warner Bros. The recreation lately wrapped up its ultimate wave of content material, and lots of had been upset over the sport’s actual ending revealing main characters who died had been truly solely clones.
The Bloomberg report additionally revealed that Batman: Arkham Origins studio WB Games Montreal was creating a live-service Batman recreation with out Bruce Wayne. Nevertheless, halfway by way of growth, plans modified, and the sport that got here out of it was the cooly obtained Gotham Knights in 2022.
After this, the report mentioned WB Games Montreal tried to make a “1.5” model of Gotham Knights that aimed to handle among the shortcomings of the primary recreation. Nevertheless, sources instructed the location that higher-ups vetoed this concept and assigned workers to different inner recreation initiatives.
The report went on to say that the workforce at WB Games Montreal later pitched a Constantine recreation, and whereas administration was mentioned to be enthusiastic at one level, bosses finally advised the workforce work on a recreation primarily based on a extra recognizable character. So it was determined to make a recreation primarily based on The Flash, however that fell aside as properly after 2023’s Flash, starring Ezra Miller, was a dud on the field workplace.
WB Games Montreal is now mentioned to be aiding Monolith Productions on the brand new Surprise Girl recreation that’s reportedly encountering its personal points and is creating a pitch for a brand new Game of Thrones title. There isn’t a phrase on what the brand new Game of Thrones title is perhaps, however given the wording that even a pitch is not completed, it feels like very, very early days.
WB Games specializing in core franchises like Batman and Game of Thrones isn’t any huge shock, as dad or mum firm Warner Bros. Discovery has mentioned it would search to maximise the probabilities of success by centering its consideration on solely the largest franchises. Past Batman and Game of Thrones, a sequel to Hogwarts Legacy is in growth at Avalanche Software program.
This report got here out no lengthy after WB Games boss David Haddad departed the corporate. A substitute has not but been named.
Warner Bros. gaming boss JB Perrette admitted to Bloomberg that WB Games is working into some robust occasions of late, however he believes the corporate will flip issues round in time. “We can’t get again to the profitability we need to get again to within the subsequent two to 3 years. It can take two to 3 years to rebuild, [and] reset to ranges we need to be at, however the bounce again is fast so far as going from loss-making to profitability,” he mentioned.