Gotham Knights has officially pushed its release date to 2022. While WB Games Montreal's Gotham Knights delay announcement was a surprise and disappointment for some, it should be seen as a good thing.
Gotham Knights looks to be an ambitious project for the studio, which last had a major game release with Batman: Arkham Origins in 2013. The game will expand on the multi-character mechanic introduced in Batman: Arkham Knight by turning it into a full-fledged co-op system. Players can take control of Batgirl, Nightwing, Robin, or Red Hood in order to tame the chaos plaguing Gotham City following Batman's apparent death.
The Court of Owls will take center stage as the main antagonist, attempting to fill the void left by Batman. While they are the perfect villainous family to take on the Bat Family, creating something as huge and intricate as the Court of Owls is likely no easy task. That's not even taking into account the various side stories following classic villains like Mr. Freeze, creating an entire city to explore, and giving each member of the Bat Family their own fighting style and approach to stealth. Gotham Knights has its sights set on creating something special, and making something truly special takes time.
Why Gotham Knights Got Delayed
In the tweet posted by the official Gotham Knights Twitter account, the development team said it is "giving the game more time to deliver the best possible experience for players." Many studios have been transparent about how the COVID-19 pandemic has made game development difficult. With technological limitations brought on by working from home and a lack of immediate access to coworkers and in-house resources, developers have quite the challenge to overcome - especially larger studios building incredibly complex games.
WB Games Montreal likely wants to put its best foot forward with Gotham Knights, due to the initial mixed reception of Batman: Arkham Origins. Regardless, it's clear the team felt Gotham Knights' original release date, July 31, 2021, was just too soon to fully achieve what the team set out to create.
Why Gotham Knights' Delay Is A Good Thing
Game publishers have often been criticized for releasing games before they're ready - most recently resulting in the Cyberpunk 2077 controversy. Even though CD Projekt Red delayed the game twice, it was clear that just wasn't enough time for something so ambitious. This served as somewhat of a warning for the potential consequences of releasing a game in a bad state, and it also showed that even highly regarded studios can face serious backlashes to their finances and reputation over an early release.
With all this in mind, it is ultimately a positive thing that WB Games Montreal has decided to prioritize making a great game over an early release. With excitement for Gotham Knights already high, allowing the development team ample time to tighten and polish the game will likely ultimately pay off in more ways than one.