Gotham Knights — we finally have the title for the next DC game from Batman: Arkham Origins developer WB Games Montréal. At DC FanDome, the Canadian studio lifted the lid on Gotham Knights, giving us our first look at what to expect from the open-world action RPG co-op game. It’s set in a world where Batman / Bruce Wayne is dead, which makes room for new heroes. The first Gotham Knights trailer confirmed the presence of Batgirl and the Court of Owls, as had previously been teased, alongside the inclusion of Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood as playable characters in addition to Batgirl. Mr. Freeze is also among the villains on Gotham Knights.
For those wondering which version of Robin is involved on Gotham Knights, it’s Tim Drake. He’s described as an expert fighter with a collapsible quarterstaff and is skilled in stealth. Barbara Gordon / Batgirl is a skilled hacker and uses the melee tonfa; she’s trained in kickboxing, capoeira and jiu-jitsu. Dick Grayson / Nightwing was the first Robin and Batman’s protégé; he’s the eldest in the Batman family, is a master in acrobatics, and wields his signature dual Escrima Sticks. Jason Todd / Red Hood is an anti-hero, as in the comics, owing to the fact he was resurrected. He’s the only one who uses guns.
At DC FanDome, WB Games Montréal also gave us eight minutes of gameplay, showing us what it’s like to play the game solo and in two player online co-op. Gotham Knights players will also have access to Batcycle in the game.
WB Games Montréal had been working on Gotham Knights for two and a half years now, with the studio’s lead game designer Osama Dorias revealing in late 2018 that they had two DC titles in development. Gotham Knights was clearly one of them. WB Games Montréal has been teasing Gotham Knights since September last year, initially releasing symbols that referenced the Court of Owls and using the tagline “Capture the Knight”. Then in January, it put up the Gotham City Police Department logo on its Twitter account, with the caption “redacted”.
That word would come in use again just this week, as WB Games Montréal created a new website r3dakt3d.com to tease its new DC game. Though the contents of r3dakt3d.com were largely hidden behind a series of four codes that unlock one after the other on separate days, Internet sleuths seemingly figured it out and claimed that Batgirl would be part of Gotham Knights, as we now know. What we didn’t know then was the extent of Batgirl’s role.
“The team is thrilled to announce Gotham Knights and share our work in bringing a different story of the DC Super Heroes to the forefront,” Warner Bros. Games Montréal creative director Patrick Redding said. “We’re looking forward to fans playing and enjoying a lot of action as this new guard of strong DC Super Heroes in Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood and Robin, while solving an original mystery set against a living, breathing Gotham City.”
Warner Bros. Games president David Haddad added: “With Gotham Knights, the team at Warner Bros. Games Montréal is bringing the Batman Family of characters to life in a unique way to delight both fans and new players. As we embark on a new era of interactive storytelling, our development team has been diligently working to create a new, in-depth experience within DC’s Batman Universe.”
Gotham Knights will release in 2021 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.