Now Leaving Gotham City: Where does Rocksteady go next?

The Dark Knight has closed his final case for Rocksteady Studios. Batman: Arkham Knight is in the books and that means the developer can now officially say goodbye to the Caped Crusader. Despite ongoing issues with the game's PC version, Rocksteady exits the Arkham series as an elite development studio, one whose work is far from finished.

So that leaves the big question of what's next for the Arkham Asylum architects. Where do they go next? Today, Shacknews is examining a couple of possibilities.

Superman

Those that have played Arkham Knight have likely seen the Easter eggs all across Gotham City. They've heard the passing references to Metropolis, seen the tourist posters on the wall, and even the many ads for the monolithic LexCorp. This is definitely a universe where a man can fly.

Before the Arkham series, Batman has had a spotty video game track record. But no hero has had a worse run in games than the Man of Steel. Rocksteady is a developer that relishes challenges and there is arguably none greater than making a good Superman game. While Rocksteady has mastered combat, the next step forward would be to craft intuitive flight mechanics.

There are a number of stories that Rocksteady can pull from the Superman mythos, but like the movies, the plot is almost secondary to the spectacle of a larger-than-life hero taking flight. The appeal would be more in seeing if Rocksteady can jump to the other side of the spectrum, going from the dark, gritty world of Gotham to the bright, hopeful city of Metropolis. Can Rocksteady go from the eternal anguish of the Bat to the eternally optimistic view of Big Blue? If Rocksteady continues its working relationship with Warner Bros., this would be among the most intriguing routes it could take.

Arrow

Of course, working with Warner Bros. also means potentially leaving the world of comics behind... to an extent. DC Comics has been ruling the television space and it all kicked off with the continuing adventures of Oliver Queen. The ongoing crusade of the Arrow would be a simple transition for Rocksteady, as the show isn't exactly shy about borrowing elements from the Batman books. Heck, the last season even made a big bad out of Batman baddie Ra's Al Ghul.

The step forward for Rocksteady here would be in seeing whether the studio could take a "made for television" narrative and successfully translate it to video games. Arrow's appeal isn't just about whether Oliver Queen can save the day in the present, but it's about him reliving his past through flashbacks. It's a story that puts him up against the baddest of DC's rogues, like Deathstroke, Merlyn, and Deadshot. And like the Bat, Ollie has a strong supporting cast to help him through, like bodyguard Diggle, Black Canary, and even The Flash.

Arrow's combat wouldn't require much tweaking, as he basically takes to the streets to take down bad guys, just like the Batman. But the other major addition would involve Arrow's growing arsenal of weaponry, including a growing collection of trick arrows. Situations that require certain arrows would add an intriguing puzzle element to an already-fantastic combat system. Oliver Queen has never had the opportunity to star in his own video game, but the folks at Rocksteady could certainly help make that happen.

The Suicide Squad/The Secret Six

Rocksteady has worked wonders with a single hero, but what if the next chapter involved working with a team? DC Comics is making a big push for the Suicide Squad, with a feature film currently in production. So why not enter that clandestine world, taking on impossible tasks to save the world from global-level threats? While Rocksteady could practice its traditional combat with certain members of the Squad, like Bronze Tiger, it could also practice some completely different gameplay sequences for certain characters like Deadshot.

Along the same lines, if Rocksteady is looking to stick closer to the comic book world, there are certainly worse ideas than giving Gail Simone's The Secret Six a shot. The Six's adventures are more unique in that they're a group of mercenaries that are too honorable to fit among villains, but completely dismissed (and condemned) as villains by the hero community. They walk their own path, working mainly for money, sometimes to save the world, but mostly to look out for each other. After all, no one else will.

Regardless of which team is at the forefront, this would provide Rocksteady with its first opportunity to work with a fully playable ensemble cast, each with distinct play styles. The downside would mainly be the lack of name recognition, but Rocksteady could certainly give this a shot.

Hellblazer

This would certainly be a roll of the dice for Rocksteady, as the developer would forego the mainstream DC Comics line and venture into the mature-rated Vertigo line. And there are few faces that represent Vertigo better than John Constantine.

Hellblazer would allow Rocksteady to continue to work within the realm of detective stories, though these would obviously take a far more supernatual turn. This would allow the studio to explore more demonic creatures, occult themes, and even bump into various supernatural members of the DC roster, like Zatanna or Deadman.

Constantine certainly has a rabid fanbase, one that took the cancellation of his recent television series quite hard. A video game would be a great way to keep the character alive, opening doors to some locales that television simply would not allow.

The Justice League of America

Now if Rocksteady really wants to take on a challenge, there's this ultimate ensemble piece. Would the developer really be willing to put more on its plate by not only taking on Batman, but also the rest of the Justice League of America? Would the developer really be willing to take on Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and any other members of comic books' premiere superhero team?

This is largely a pipe dream, just because the JLA has such a rich history of stories from across decades. They can take place on Earth, in space, or across other dimensions. There are any number of villains that can be dragged in, from the individual rogues to galaxy-spanning threats like Darkseid.

But a pipe dream is indeed what a Justice League game is at the moment. Rocksteady has had it hard enough just getting a Batman game off the ground, but coming up with unique gameplay sequences for each individual hero sounds brutal. Not to mention the studio would have to provide a vast explorable world for all of them to venture through with their own power set.

Is it possible? In theory, yes. Is it realistic? On paper, it doesn't appear so. Then again, nobody ever thought a trilogy of games that opened up all of Gotham City to play with was possible ten years ago. Yet, here we are.

Any suggestions for where Rocksteady should take its talents next? Let us know in the comments.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?