Gotham Knights, the upcoming Batman-franchise action game from Arkham Origins developer WB Montreal, will be eschewing its last-gen versions and will only be releasing on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC now. This news comes courtesy of an email directly from the publisher paired with a new gameplay trailer for the upcoming title.
“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,” the press release reads, providing no further information.
This is one of the first and most notable high-profile cancellations of last-gen versions of an upcoming title where those previous consoles had already been announced, at least for this generation. There have been other examples, but largely publishers want to make the previous install bases of the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One still in play if at all possible. Usually this is because adoption of current-gen consoles has been slower than game publishers would like due to component shortages and a scalping epidemic, so making the decision to eschew older consoles must have actually been quite difficult.
It stands to reason, at least based on the small reasoning given by PR, that it wasn’t technically possible to have a decent version of the game running on the PS4 and Xbox One, especially since they have to account for the launch versions of those consoles and not just the more powerful Pro and X variants that came along later in the generation.
The actual trailer shows off Robin and Red Hood co-opping through a patrol mission, beating up bad guys, and finding blueprints and crafting materials to feed their growing stats. A recent rumor suggested that the game would allow four-player co-op as well, but the trailer does not indicate anything like that. If true, it could be one possible reason the developers felt that last-gen consoles could no longer keep up.
Gotham Knights is releasing on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, and PC on October 25 after a delay earlier this year. It takes place in an alternate universe to the Arkham games WB also publishes, so there’s little worry about having to catch up. The story follows the successors of a killed Batman battling the Court of Owls, who seek to control Gotham City.
It is perhaps a little appropriate that the game is about the older generation giving way to the newer one.
