Batman might be the world’s greatest detective, but the internet has its fair share of super sleuths. Three recently registered domains discovered in the wee hours of Sunday morning might just have revealed the title of the Caped Crusader’s return in Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad.
If years of rumours are to be believed, a Suicide Squad game has been in development as far back as WB Games Montréal’s founding in 2010.
DC legend, Geoff Johns even discussed its development with Kotaku back in 2012, over a year before Arkham Origins was released. “We’re working on Suicide Squad; it’s in development right now,” Johns said. “I’m really super excited about it. Because of the concept, you have a game where any of the lead characters can conceivably die, and it’s not a stunt. Some really cool story could come out of that.”
An idea which was a real novelty at the time; long before David Ayer’s incoherent and unwieldy take graced our screens. A flick which included “lead character” deaths that even DC’s sightless hero Doctor Mid-Nite could see coming.
Warner Bros. haven’t exactly been trying to hide the existence of a Suicide Squad game. Amanda Waller makes an appearance in a post-credit cutscene in Batman: Arkham Origins. The director of the government-funded programme offers Deadshot the opportunity to rot in jail or to work for her. Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate also ends with the reveal that Waller was the clandestine force pulling the strings behind the scenes as she assembled her squad of degenerates.
In 2016 it looked like it was all a bust for Task Force X. Reports surfaced that the Canadian studio had cancelled the unannounced title as they shifted focus to a game centred around Damien Wayne. Purportedly including co-op, their progress appeared to underwhelm Warner Bros. management.
WB Games Montréal have again been forthcoming with their teases for their next Batman title. Everything this time around pointing to a game featuring the Court of Owls. A secret society of Gotham’s social elites who have run the city from the shadows since the 1600s.
The cabal appears in 2012’s run “Night of the Owls”. A storyline in which Damien features prominently alongside the other members of the Wayne extended family. Family including Alfred, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Catwoman. A group typically referred to as the Gotham Knights.
The two web domain registrations, however, seem to imply that, while the Suicide Squad game was cancelled at Montréal, Rocksteady may have stepped in and grabbed the reigns. After all, killing Superman and the Justice League would be cathartic for the studio whose pitch for a Superman game was rejected.
It also wouldn’t be unusual for a studio to take over lead development on a game that was on the ropes. Last year Treyarch replaced Raven and Sledgehammer on their upcoming 2020 Call of Duty release.
It seems likely that we’ll see these games on next-gen consoles, but when is anyone’s guess. WB Games are set to reveal all at the DC FanDome digital event on the 22nd of August as part of ComicCon@Home. So, it looks like we don’t have too long to wait to find out more!