It’s been known for some time that a newBatmangame was coming; for weeks, the rumor mill has been churning out theories about the story and the implications of the leaked title. Now the rumor mill gets to start over, becauseGothamKnightshas been revealed, andBatmanfans know more than ever about it. The trailer reveals plenty about the game, from the setup involving Bruce Wayne’s untimely death andthe Court of Owls risingas a threat to Gotham. It’s always exciting when a trailer like this finally drops and confirms a lot of dubious information about a game.
However, the trailer conspicuously lacks one piece of information: when isGotham Knightscoming out? The trailer doesn’t include a release date. While it’s known that the game will be out in 2021, that kind of window is always awfully broad –Gotham Knightscould release in January on fresh consoles or more than a year from now. With only one brand new trailer to work with, odds are fans will have to keep busy speculating about the game for the foreseeable future. Perhaps one of the richest possible fields of theorycrafting has to do with that elusive release date.
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Clues from Arkham
Considering thatGotham Knightsis being publishedby Warner Bros Games Montreal just like theArkhamseries before it, the release date might be influenced in some way byArkham.Despite taking place in separate continuities, chances are the games will be forever connected on a development and fan perception level. Those games had a habit of releasing in the last third of the year. Two of them arrived on store shelves in October and another in August, whileArkham Knightwas an outlier releasing in June. Beyond that, October and November have come up a fair bit more inArkham’s history, such as the October 2016 remaster ofArkham Asylumfor PS4 and Xbox One.
The question then becomes how much of a relationship WB Games Montreal wantsGotham Knightsto have with theArkhamseries. It was assumed for a long timethatGotham Knightswould be anArkhamgamewhen rumors indicated another Batman game was in the works, but it turns out they’re unconnected storylines taking place in alternate universes. Even if the games don’t have anything to do with one another, WB Games might feel enough nostalgia for their first series to mark October and the months around it as the traditional time of the year for newBatmangames to release.
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The Production Schedule
Beyond that, there’s some hallmarks ofArkhamthat could affectGotham Knightswith less to do with nostalgia or lore and more with the pace of production. TheArkhamseries has always had a very brisk release schedule. From 2009 to 2015, there was a new game in the series every other year, even when the development hit its rough patches. Thanks in part to that pace, the games generally released within about a year of their reveal. Four games in six years is a pretty impressive pace, andifGotham Knightsis developednearly as swiftly as its predecessors, it might be out sooner rather than later. This could mean it’s another outlier if it’s reveal-to-release time frame remains the same.
It’s worth acknowledging that development schedules everywhere are far from normal right now. Every game studio has had to adapt to the pandemic, and WB Games Montreal is surely no different. As long as the pandemic remains an issue, it’slikely to be an obstacle toGotham Knights.With that context and all these other clues combined, it wouldn’t be surprising if a full year goes by before the game releases. The developers could always surprise fans with a release announcement in the next six months, but the odds are against it. For now, players will have to be satisfied with the new trailer and look forward to new reveals.
Gotham Knightswill be released in 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
