Batman: Arkham Is Finally Officially Back In A Big Way

Ask almost any gamer and they will say that Batman video games peaked with either the Batman: Arkham franchise or perhaps the LEGO Batman games that precede LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. The latter is now being considered a contender to dethrone all Batman games that came before it, boasting an open-world Gotham City, a fully explorable Batcave, nostalgic movie, TV show, and comic book references, and Batman: Arkham’s signature gameplay.

One of the features that has endured the longest in the Batman: Arkham franchise’s own legacy is its Freeflow combat system, with the Meta Quest 3-exclusive Batman: Arkham Shadow being the proof in the pudding. Batman: Arkham Shadow’s potential sequel might have been canceled, and it is anyone’s guess whether we will receive a new Batman: Arkham game for flatscreen platforms in the future, but two highly anticipated games launching later this month are seeking to fill that gulf.

LEGO Batman Is Microwaving Batman: Arkham’s Nachos

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight’s gameplay is unabashedly and brilliantly adapting the same formulas that Batman: Arkham Knight boasted more than a decade ago. This way, it is virtually a Batman: Arkham game, but delivered through the lighthearted, hilarious, and kid-friendly lens of a LEGO game.

In fact, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is proof that this style of combat can be engaging and fun regardless of whether the arms and legs Batman breaks are flesh and blood or a detachable LEGO piece. With players’ muscle memory apparently being transferable between a Batman: Arkham game and LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, it is wonderful that we are technically getting a new flatscreen Batman: Arkham game in 2026.

If nothing else, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight emulating Batman: Arkham Knight and other games in the sweeping Batman: Arkham franchise is a testament to how beloved it is. Fans who are chiefly interested in this game because it is a Batman: Arkham spiritual successor cannot afford to miss out on the LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight’s Deluxe edition, however, as it earns players a themed Arkham trilogy pack, including seven new suits (one for each playable character), one new Batmobile, and five new Batcave props.

007 First Light Joins The Freeflow Combat Club

007 First Light’s melee combat has been repeatedly described as Batman: Arkham-like. It may not have beatdowns or hit streak counters, but the same flavor of enemy-to-enemy flow, crowd control, and satisfying finishers has certainly been inherited.

The bread and butter of Batman: Arkham-style combat is its counter animations, wherein players must press the counter input when an incoming attack is about to interrupt the string of attacks players have been dishing out. It suddenly makes all the sense in the world that 007 First Light’s hand-to-hand combat is so akin to Batman: Arkham’s, then, with the knowledge that Batman: Arkham veteran developer Del Walker has shared on Twitter/X.

The influence that Batman: Arkham combat animator/designer Adam Vincent—who worked on Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, Batman: Arkham Knight, and Batman: Arkham VR at Rocksteady—had as the former principal combat designer at IO Interactive is obviously intact and intentional to this day. 007 First Light may not be an actual Batman game like LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, and yet both games releasing back-to-back at the end of May will be a double-feature treat for fans of the Batman: Arkham series nonetheless.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is scheduled to be released for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on May 22, 2026, with a release for Nintendo Switch 2 in development.

Systems

Released

May 22, 2026

Developer(s)

TT Games

Publisher(s)

Warner Bros. Interactive

PC Release Date

May 22, 2026

Xbox Series X|S Release Date

May 22, 2026

PS5 Release Date

May 22, 2026