Rocksteady Studios’ action-adventure game, Arkham Asylum, featuring DC Comics’ Dark Knight, Batman, was an instant hit after Warner Bros. Interactive published it in 2009. Unsurprisingly, its 2011 sequel, Arkham City, also went over well among critics and gamers alike, making the Batman: Arkham franchise one of the most popular video games around.
This past May, Rocksteady Studios confirmed that Batman: Return to Arkham, the bundled remastered versions of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, would be released on July 26th for PS4 and Xbox One – fueling the excitement of gamers everywhere who would soon be able to fight crime, as their favorite Caped Crusader, in a graphically updated 1080p universe. Unfortunately, however, fans will have to wait a little bit longer.
According to an official statement on one of Warner Bros. Interactive’s Arkham Knight forums (via Polygon), Batman: Return to Arkham has been put on hold indefinitely. Here is the official statement:
“After reviewing the progress of the project, the team at WB Games has decided to delay the release of Batman: Return to Arkham to give the team at Virtuous Games additional time to deliver a polished Batman Arkham game experience. We do not have a release date yet and will be sure to communicate that once we are sure the game will be ready. We know this is disappointing news, but we feel the extra time will allow the team to create the best gaming experience for our fans.”
The news has already generated a slew of mixed responses from gamers. Some, while still acknowledging their disappointment, are willing to wait if it means having the best game possible. Others have voiced their frustrations that WB Games gave no concrete timeline as to when they could expect the Return to Arkham remaster’s highly anticipated release.
Once Return to Arkham does hit the shelves with a $49.99 price tag, it will integrate the graphical features of Unreal Engine 4, rather than the Unreal Engine 3 (which was designed for older console platforms). The most recent title, Arkham Knight, won’t be included in the collection, as it was already designed for the latest consoles – making the Return to Arkham re-release a seemingly valuable venture. That said, we can only wonder if the delay (however long) will up the game’s hype or frustrate fans to the point that they disregard it altogether, choosing instead to graciously put up with the 720p graphics of the original titles.
Screen Rant will continue to bring you updated news on Batman: Return to Arkham as it becomes available.
Sources: WB Games, Polygon
