Good news! There’s a new Batman: Arkham game on the way that’s not Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. (Potentially) not-so-good news! It’s a virtual reality game that you’ll only be able to play if you own a Meta Quest 3. Hmm.
Batman: Arkham Shadow is officially the next part of the Batman Arkhamverse, joining the games you definitely remember – Arkham Asylum, Arkham City and Arkham Knight – the games you might prefer to conveniently forget based on personal preference (Arkham Origins, Kill the Justice League) and those you’ve almost certainly forgotten regardless of how you feel about them: side-scroller Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, mobile games Batman: Arkham City Lockdown and Batman: Arkham Underworld, and 2016’s Batman: Arkham VR.
Like Arkham VR, Batman: Arkham Shadow will be completely exclusive to virtual reality. And not only exclusive to VR, but exclusive to one VR headset in particular: the Facebook-made Meta Quest 3.
Behind the upcoming game are developers Camouflaj, known for Iron Man VR and stealth-action game Republique – which started as a non-VR game, before later making the jump over – who described it as their biggest project yet. The game is apparently “being crafted to be the ultimate VR game and take full advantage of Meta Quest 3”, with Camouflaj saying it’ll be “a distinctly Arkham-feeling game but done in a way that leverages the immersive magic only VR can provide”.
Even so, Arkham Shadow will still be considered canon in the universe established by the likes of Asylum, City and Knight – and to which series creators Rocksteady’s Kill the Justice League serves as the latest chapter – with the studio promising they are “committed to building upon the beloved foundation laid by the legendary team at Rocksteady, and driven to do it justice”.
The teaser trailer doesn’t tease much except, yep, this is a Batman game alright. We’ll see more of Arkham Shadow during a full reveal at Summer Games Fest on June 7th, ahead of a planned release in late 2024.