Warner Bros. recognizes that the world needs more superhero games like Batman: Arkham Asylum.
Today, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Rocksteady Studios, the developer behind 2009’s pretty awesome Batman: Arkham Asylum. This could easily be considered an investment in not only a proven studio, but in a future where superhero videogames don’t suck.
Rocksteady was founded in London in 2004, but really hit it big with Batman: Arkham Asylum last year amongst critics and consumers alike. We already know the studio is working on Arkham Asylum 2, of which only a trailer has been shown so far, but Warner’s acquisition could ensure an even lengthier future for the developer as far as superheroes are concerned. Sefton Hill, games director for Rocksteady, hints: “The Rocksteady team is very much looking forward to creating more great games based on widely recognized Warner Bros. brands like Batman.”
Warner Bros. now owns two studios that have developed good Batman games, acquiring Lego Batman developer Traveler’s Tales back in 2007. With good superhero games for kids and adults now both with a major backer, I think we all win here.
Arkham Asylum is almost an assured big-selling franchise at this point, so superhero videogame fans should have releases to look forward to from Rocksteady for a while. After Arkham Asylum 2 is released, it’s likely that Rocksteady Studios will either work on Arkham Asylum 3, or another superhero game from the DC Comics universe. Rocksteady has become the Chris Nolan of the videogame world, successfully bringing the Dark Knight back into a positive public light. Whether the studio will also be brought over to another superhero franchise like Nolan is complete speculation, but I wouldn’t mind seeing a really good Superman game sometime in the next decade. Or, you know, ever.
