Batman Beyond open-world game from Arkham developers divides fans

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By

Jared Stewart

Published May 13, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT

Jared is a writer, editor, and Communications Studies graduate who loves popular nerd culture (almost anything to do with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings) and the interactive storytelling medium. Jared's first console was the PS1, wherein he fell for Spider-Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot.

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If there is anything to surmise from the heights of anticipation for LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight_, it's that the Batman: Arkham franchise’s legacy precedes it. Between Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, Batman: Arkham Origins, and Batman: Arkham Knight, the series’ popularity has cemented it as a definitive Batman mythology, with fans itching for a brand-new Batman: Arkham game.

The Arkhamverse (the colloquial name for the Batman: Arkham games’ continuity) had two in-universe installments launch in the last two years, but they've come with caveats. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a poorly received live-service shooter, and Batman: Arkham Shadow is leashed to the Meta Quest 3/3S. Rumors and leaks regarding a new Batman: Arkham game have been around for the last decade, and one that was swiftly debunked has fans more distraught than ever.

_ Terry McGinnis in his super-suit as Batman Beyond.

A fake ‘leak’ sprouted recently on 4chan and was shared on Reddit, claiming that Rocksteady was working on a Batman: Arkham_ game adapting the Batman Beyond era. This included images, as well as key story beats and other such details, but any chance of the ‘leak’ being legitimate was quickly dashed when journalist Jason Schreier responded to it on a ResetEra thread, writing, “Faaaaaake.”

It's great that a fake leak like this has been outed, with Reddit user timelordoftheimpala describing its debunking as a “Death by Schreier truthnuke.” That said, the reason why anyone might have believed it in the first place is because of how badly fans have wanted a Batman Beyond-style Arkham game, and how logical it might be to imagine that sort of sci-fi, cyberpunk-esque Neo-Gotham in the future of the Batman: Arkham games’ lore.

For example, user Zeeisrage was skeptical of the leak itself, stating, “The ‘Nemesis System’ is where I knew it couldn’t be. Way too good to be true,” while others, like user XxRedAlpha101xX, simply lament the lack of a “modern” Batman: Arkham game on flatscreen platforms.

_ Batman: Arkham Knight_'s Batman in Gotham City.

Interestingly, it appears as if not all fans would be overwhelmingly thrilled with a new Batman: Arkham game developed by Rocksteady, even if it was inheriting a Batman Beyond storyline. As user Die-Hearts remarks, there are at least a couple of reasons why Rocksteady may not be trusted by fans anymore: “SS KTJL bombed,” and “almost all of Rocksteady’s veteran talent are gone.”

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