Why Gotham Knights Is Skipping Last-Gen Consoles | Screen Rant

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has stated that its upcoming action RPG, Gotham Knights, will only be released on next-generation consoles. When the game was first announced in August of 2020, it was meant to release on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as well as the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, but the game’s developer, WB Games Montréal, has revised the decision. The statement accompanied a new gameplay trailer released today, confirming that the game will be available exclusively on PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.

Gotham Knights takes place in a timeline where Batman is said to have perished. Its protagonists, who usually play supporting roles to the billionaire vigilante, must take up the mantle of Gotham City’s key defenders. Gotham Knights‘ gameplay, which features online co-op, revolves around four protagonists: Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, and Red Hood. While some of these are familiar characters to past Batman: Arkham titles like Arkham Knight, WB Games Montréal’s Gotham Knights is an entirely new story set in a different incarnation of the DCUniverse.

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Alongside the recent Gotham Knights trailer, which showcased gameplay of Nightwing and Red Hood, was a press release from WB Games that read, “Please note, to provide players with the best possible gameplay experience, the game will release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC and will not be available for PlayStation 4 or Xbox One consoles.” This announcement will leave many fans who planned to play the game on PS4 or Xbox One in the lurch, as it deviates from Gotham Knights‘ original launch plan. However, if what the developers’ short statement says is true, the game will directly benefit from this move, offering a smoother next-generation experience for those who have a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S.

If the recent trailer is any indication, Gotham Knights does appear to have the potential to be a fully-realized next-generation title. Its massive open world and mission system seem highly interactive, with a variety of traversal options including gliders, teleportation, and motorcycles. Gotham Knights compares well to Spider-Man in both its combat and utilization of multiple characters, but its more ambitious intentions as an immersive next-generation title could give it a leg up on Insomniac’s recent Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which functioned on both PS5 and PS4. This focus on boosting Gotham Knights‘ presentation and fluid gameplay could also help further distinguish it from the previous Batman: Arkham titles that it’s being compared to, allowing the game to compete within a class of its own.

The reaction to this move from WB Games further highlights the growing divide between players who want next-generation consoles to be optimized beyond the capabilities of the PS4 and Xbox One, and those who favor accessibility for the past generation. PS5 and Xbox Series X/S owners will surely be happy to hear Gotham Knights plans to fully utilize its consoles’ capabilities, while those who cannot obtain a PS5 due to shortages, or simply can’t afford either of the new consoles, will be disappointed. Ultimately, players will have to wait until Gotham Knights releases in October to determine whether the game really does exceed the limits of the last-generation consoles enough to justify excluding them from its player base.

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