Why Batman Remakes May Be The Best Path Forward For Rocksteady

The Batman: Arkham series is one of the most beloved superhero series to date, with Batman: Arkham Knight approaching its tenth anniversary in 2025. Since its inception in 2009, this iconic series has solidified its status over the years despite some mixed receptions for titles like Lockdown, Blackgate, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Overall, the series remains a high point in the superhero genre.

However, it’s not the end of the road. In fact, it might be the perfect time for Rocksteady Studios to consider remastering its other main installments and smaller titles. With Kevin Conroy no longer able to reprise his role as the Caped Crusader and the criticism surrounding Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, revisiting the Batman: Arkham series’ roots could be a promising move. Remastering Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Knight could be a surefire way to engage both newcomers and longtime fans, breathing new life into these cherished titles.

This article contains major spoilers for
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

10 Most Comic Accurate Suits In The Batman: Arkham Games

Throughout the Batman: Arkham games, Batman and other playable characters have had alternate costumes that bounced off the pages of comics.

Several Arkham Games Are Worthy of a Remaster

Why Now Is the Perfect Time For Fresh Arkhamverse Remasters

The most recent addition to the Arkham franchise was the virtual reality title Batman: Arkham Shadow in October. While it received generally positive reviews, its limited availability on VR devices left some fans feeling left out. The fact that Rocksteady Studios hasn’t released a mainline entry since 2015 is a source of disappointment for some, especially given the divided response to 2024’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The game also marked Kevin Conroy’s final performance as Batman before his passing, which deepened the loss among fans.

Therefore, returning to the crime-ridden streets of Gotham City as the World’s Greatest Detective is an enticing idea. The studio could preserve Kevin Conroy’s memory by keeping his voice lines while transitioning to a cutting-edge engine like Unreal Engine 5. This would also be an essential first step toward porting the games to next-gen consoles, all while appealing to the nostalgia of veteran players.

Moreover, with the Suicide Squad’s mission accomplished and the Justice League eliminated, the future of Rocksteady Studios’ Arkhamverse is shrouded in uncertainty. Some may wish to disregard the 2024 game, but as it’s part of the canon, it seems unlikely that the version of Batman players have come to love will return in a future installment. At least, it isn’t likely this will happen through any narrative after Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League‘s ending.

Batman Games Rocksteady Should Remaster First

While Rocksteady Studios doesn’t need to remake any of the games in the series in the style of a fully-fledged Dead Space remake, it’s important to note that only Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City have received remasters. These remasters were included in the Return to Arkham collection, released in 2016 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This collection featured both games along with their downloadable content (DLC).

As such, 2013’s Batman: Arkham Origins and 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight are prime candidates for a refresh. The studio could even build on this by extending this treatment to 2016’s virtual reality title Batman: Arkham VR, 2013’s side-scroller Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, and 2016’s Batman: Arkham Underworld. Hopefully, considering the recent release of Batman: Arkham Shadow, Rocksteady Studios and Warner Bros. will soon share a definitive roadmap regarding its plans for future DC Comics games.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
was initially developed for the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS, though a deluxe edition was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and Windows. Similarly,
Batman: Arkham Underworld
was developed for mobile devices but was shut down in 2017.

Protect Gotham City from all kinds of threats across the iconic Batman: Arkham Trilogy. Become the Batman and utilize a wide range of gadgets and abilities to face off against Gotham’s most dangerous villains, finally facing the ultimate threat against the city that Batman is sworn to protect.

Face off against notorious DC Super-Villains: The Joker, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and more in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Step into the shadows of Batman: Arkham City’s open world, the new maximum security “home” for thugs, gangsters, and insane criminal masterminds. In Batman: Arkham Knight, tear through the streets of Gotham and take on the ultimate threat in the trilogy’s epic conclusion.

Experience two of the most critically acclaimed titles of the last generation – Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, with fully remastered and updated visuals. Complete your experience with the explosive finale to the Arkham series in Batman: Arkham Knight. The trilogy includes all DLC, in one complete package.

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