Rumor: Warner Bros. Turned Down Rocksteady’s Pitch for a Superman Game

JB Augustine |

Apr 27, 2020

Remember that next-gen Superman game we heard about and some of you were hoping for? That’s reportedly up, up, and away; not in a good way either – think of it as out the window.

According to numerous sources, including Geeks WorldWide gaming reporter James Sigfield, Warner Bros. said no to a pitch from Rocksteady Studios – developer of three installments in the successful Batman: Arkham series – for such a project starring the Man of Steel.

Man of Steel Superman - Art by Ivan Reis

The game would have been a followup to Arkham Knight. Sigfield tweeted concept art he and a few others believe was for the scrapped game, saying the cityscape looked kind of like New Gotham in the Arkham series.

View it below, you be the judge:

Hearing from multiple sources that Rocksteady pitched a Superman game to WB as a follow up to Arkham Knight, and WB passed on the project.

Judging how similar this feels to the “New Gotham” section of Arkham Knight, this could be for that. pic.twitter.com/RKIE6ugKSP

— James Sigfield (@Jsig212James) April 15, 2020

Jeremy of Geeks + Gamers on YouTube covered the rumor, noting it’s not completely confirmed, but also lamenting a Superman game from Rocksteady is something he and others want.

He added canceling the game is part and parcel of the reputed problem Warner has: they are unable to understand Big Blue and don’t know how to make him relevant today.

Watch his short vlog on the subject below:

Chatter concerning a Superman game in development has been steady for the last two years. There was a belief that whatever was in the pipeline was getting unveiled at E3 2018 but nothing came of it.

Reports say a game was in the works and this pitch could’ve been the germ of that, if not the whole story. However, former Kotaku editor Jason Schreier and Rocksteady co-founder Sefton Hill denied any Superman game was being made in November of 2018.

As I said on this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen, the Rocksteady/Superman rumors have always been bullshit! https://t.co/vmWavz4wFc

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) November 30, 2018

Then “vague hints” hit the web a next-gen entry featuring the Man of Tomorrow was coming to the new Xbox system at launch. Excited as GamesRadar+ was, the lead was invariably considered “not super solid” by the site.

Warner Bros. may be too focused on the effort undertaken by its game-developing arm in Montreal to reboot the Batman: Arkham brand with a “bigger than ever” title that could be out this year.

This doesn’t make a future open-world Superman platformer impossible. Allegedly, they want a new DC gaming universe to spring from the awaited new Batman installment – titled either Capture the Knight or Arkham Legacy. We won’t know for sure until the fall or thereabouts depending on if coronavirus lockdowns put a halt to things.