DC FanDome has finally arrived, and with it the official unveiling of WB Montreal’sGotham Knights. The game hasn’t exactly been the best kept secret, and not just because WB Montreal teased it way ahead of time. In fact, the majority of information prior to the DC event was sourced through several rumors and leaks. Of course, many of the rumors/leaks were either bogus or in relation to Rocksteady’s DC game,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Several rumors and leaks for WB Montreal’sBatmangame ended up detailing a lot of what was shown in the trailer and gameplay at DC FanDome. A lot of the details like the Court of Owls storyline, multiple playable members of the “Bat-Family,” and even technically the details of its continuity with theArkhamgames all appeared online beforehand. At the same time, there were a lot of fake details out there too that have either been proven false or simply not clarified yet. From what has been revealed so far, here are the rumors that were true and false aboutGotham Knights.
Gotham Knights' Prominent and Accurate Rumors
Many of the prevailing rumors and leaks aboutGotham Knightsdid end up being accurate with the reveal. Primarily the “Bat-Family” leaks were true, as players will be able to hop into the shoes of Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood. This wasn’t an error per se, but the fact that friends can play drop-in, drop-out co-op also wasn’t mentioned in many of the leaks either. The leaks were also accurate in stating that this Bat-Family was not going to be part of theArkhamgames' continuity, but rather something new. It’s mostly a reboot of sort, but Rocksteady’sSuicide Squadgame still takes place in theArkhamuniverse, according to the game’s creative director Sefton Hill, continuing that plot line there.
The biggest rumor surrounding WB Montreal’s game that came true was thatthe narrative would follow the Court of Owls storyline. Granted, this was the most obvious assumption. Not only was this the consensus among all leaks, but there was too much evidence from WB Montreal’s teases not to believe it. While the game doesn’t appear to be entirely centered on just the Court, the trailer does heavily infer that they’ll be the overarching villain forGotham Knights' story.
False Rumors about “Arkham: Legacy”
On the flip side, there were plenty of details that rumors got wrong or at least were misguided aboutGotham Knights. The majority of the rumors that were inaccurate weremostly due to overlap with Rocksteady’sSuicide Squadgame. There were rumors about the titular squad making an appearance inGotham Knightsspecifically, but it’s highly unlikely now that theSuicide Squadgame has been unveiled. That’s not to say members of the Suicide Squad won’t make an appearance, but the actual collective of villains won’t feature in the game.
In more recent leaks from 2020, those spreading rumors had settled on using a game title that ended up being inaccurate as well. Many leaks and coverage of WB Montreal’s game started reportingunder theArkham: Legacynomenclature, in reference to the actualGotham Knights. Additionally, there were some little details that were wrong, like how the game was going to feature the fifth Robin (Damian Wayne) instead of the third (Tim Drake). One detail that ended up being the best kept secret of this newBatmangame was the fact that Bruce Wayne is killed at the beginning of the game. None of the most prominent rumors/leaks picked up on that detail, to the game’s benefit, but this may have been because some still hoped it would be anotherArkhamtitle.
RELATED:Batman Arkham 2020’s Court of Owls and Talons Explained
Gotham Knights and DC Details Up in the Air
Then there’s the unknown details and aspects that could still be up in the air for now. Another big rumor wasGotham Knightswouldimplement its own version of the Nemesis System fromMiddle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, a rotating and procedurally-generated lineup of rivals for players to take down throughout the game. There are multiple ways this type of system could be implemented inGotham Knights, whether it relates to the major villains in theBatmanuniverse like Mr. Freeze, or lesser enemies like the different Talons in the Court of Owls. For now, there hasn’t been any mention of that type of system in the game yet, so for now it’s unlikely but not out of the question.
Additionally, and this comes with the caveat that this could’ve been conjecture on the part of the leakers themselves, but some posited thatGotham Knightswould be the lead-in to an expanded DC games universe. It was never detailed how this might occur, or if there’s plans for any subsequent titles following other DC heroes, but it’s certainly not impossible. However, the game’s reception upon release will ultimately kickstart any subsequent games in a new DC heroes video game franchise.
Overall, many of the leaks forGotham Knightswere generally accurate. There were some misrepresentations, due toSuicide Squadbeing developed in tandem withGotham Knights, but overall there were some pretty significant accurate details leaked. Fans should be excited to hearmore specific details aboutGotham Knightseither later this year or early next year.
