Gotham Knights Team Reportedly Working On Superman Game
Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it's a wild rumour. With Rocksteady's Arkham trilogy proving superhero video games aren't all 1999's Superman 64 or the equally diabolical Superman Returns that tied into the 2006 movie of the same name, we've been looking out for the Man of Steel.
Although there were references to Metropolis and a few nods toward the big man himself, Superman failed to appear in Rocksteady's acclaimed trilogy.
That's all going to change thanks to the developer's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, but in a similar circle, could WB Montreal be working on a fully-fledged Superman game?
Is the Gotham Knights developer working on a Superman game?
We know that Gotham Knights will shift the focus away from the Caped Crusader and hone in on the Bat Family in 2022, however, the latest reports claim WB Montreal will tackle another hero. As picked up by PCGamesN, the developer is currently hiring for a 3C Game Designer with a mention of "a third-person open-world action game".
The listing is pretty generic, but it's the mention of a Senior Gameplay/Animation Programmer that has piqued everyone's interest. In particular, WB Montreal is hiring for "a new IP, triple-A title". Considering the studio's previous work on Batman: Arkham Origins and now Gotham Knights, it would make sense to stick with what you know. The site speculated it's not for a Superman game, but we're not so sure.
Despite the Metropolis Marvel's place in this world, we'd argue the announcement of a Superman game would fit the bill of a new IP. As well as WB Montreal's site saying it is a studio "focused on developing games that expand the DC universe in the interactive space", there's the fact a job listing previously confirmed it was working on TWO DC games.
We already know Gotham Knights is one, but what about the other? Back in the day, Rocksteady was rumoured to be working on an open-world Superman title set within the Arkhamverse, but it's important to remember it's a completely different developer to WB Montreal. Even though WB Montreal worked on Origins, it's held as the black sheep of the Arkhamverse.
When will we know more about WB Montreal's game?
Ultimately, it's all hearsay for now. Only recently, we covered how a merger deal threatens to split up the Warner Bros. Games studios, which casts doubt on whether everyone will make it out of this one alive. Let's also remember WB was a no-show at this year's E3 - meaning we missed out on an update for Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Warner Bros. Interactive hasn't responded to requests for information on what the role(s) relate to, but a Superman game makes a lot of sense. Alongside his upcoming turn in Kill the Justice League and swooping down onto the Fortnite map as a skin, the long-held plans for Rocksteady's game were met with plenty of hype.
One of the reasons players think a game based on Superman has failed to soar to the top of the charts is because he's just too powerful. However, with the Arkham games and Marvel's Spider-Man showing how it's done, we say it's about time Clark Kent stuck his pants on outside his tights.