It sounds like if a new Batman game isn’t already in the works, one could well be in time to come, as Warner Bros. outlines its plans to focus its efforts on the four main game franchises it knows fans love.
During its latest earnings call, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav admits that the company’s games business “is substantially underperforming its potential right now,” but he still seems optimistic about the future thanks to the company’s plan to focus on four “strong and profitable game franchises” going forward. That apparently includes the caped crusader himself, who got a specific shoutout amongst the more generic mention of DC.
We have four strong and profitable game franchises with loyal, global fans. Hogwarts Legacy, Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, and DC – in particular, Batman,” Zaslav says. “We are focusing our development efforts on those core franchises, with proven studios to improve our success ratio.”
Does that mean a Batman game is in development right now? Not necessarily, but it does show that Warner Bros. is well aware of the demand for one, which is promising in itself. It’s not that the company hasn’t already been focusing on DC, of course – we already saw the release of the VR game Batman: Arkham Shadow and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League this year, but the latter wasn’t met particularly favorably by players or critics. We gave it two and a half stars out of five in our own Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League review, criticizing its “repetitive missions” and “lackluster combat.”
Later in the call, Zaslav admits that “it hasn’t been pretty on the gaming business,” but reiterates that “we have four games that are really powerful and have a real constituency that love them, and we’re going to focus on those four primarily.” He also seems to imply that the company may begin cutting down the actual quantity of games it releases, noting: “We’re going to go away from trying to launch 10, 12, 15, 20 different games. And I think we’ve a real chance now with focus, to have the gaming business to be steadier.”
Elsewhere, it’s been reported that Hogwarts Legacy 2 is “coordinating” some of its story elements with the plot of HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV series, which would back up Warner Bros. efforts to focus on it as a “core” gaming franchise.
While you’re here, be sure to check out our roundup of the best Batman games.