DC's New Push Into Video Games Should Copy Marvel's Best Idea
A WB Games production doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence.
Yet another attempt at a DC Comics cinematic universe is on the way, this time helmed by Guardians Of The Galaxy and The Suicide Squad (2021) director James Gunn. Things seem to be starting on the right foot, as the trailer for Superman, the first film in the new franchise, had a tone that felt authentic to the iconic hero and his universe.
With high hopes of reaching the same heights Marvel and Disney have achieved, it’s no surprise that Gunn and producer Peter Safran are asking publisher WB Games to help develop this universe. However, the director’s comments on the initiative at a recent DC Studios presentation don’t make me nearly as excited as I should be.
During the presentation, Gunn and Safran confirmed they’re working “incredibly closely” with JB Perrette, the president of Warner Brothers’ Global Streaming and Games. “James and I sit with literally the guys that run the studios underneath JB,” Safran said, according to several outlets in attendance. “Whether it's NetherRealm or whether it's Rocksteady, we sit with them and talk about characters and stories that we're interested in and that they're interested in.”
James Gunn and Peter Safran say they’re in talks with the same developers who gave us some of the most memorable DC-based games.
“We see designs for the projects in their very earliest stages,” Gunn added. “We talk about those, we talk about what the story might be and we’ll say ‘Well, maybe you want to go this way because we’re planning on maybe doing something with this character.’”
As a comic book fan with high hopes, this is all pretty cool. These comments offer reassurance that the new DCU won’t be the cobbled-together mess that was the DCEU, as it seems those at the top are trying to tie together the shows, movies, and games that will build this universe.
As a gamer, however, I can’t help but be underwhelmed that the two studios we know Gunn and Safran talked to are not only in-house, but already deep into making video game adaptations of DC heroes.
I understand the logic. NetherRealm Studio’s Injustice games are fantastic, as are the tie-in comics. Rocksteady may have struck out with Suicide Squad last year, but it’s still the team behind the Arkham series, the greatest superhero trilogy ever made. Leaning on these two developers is a no-brainer.
But that’s the issue. It’s safe to assume that NetherRealm is working on Injustice 3, given the massive success of the first two, and it's been reported that Rocksteady is working on a new Batman game. Having these two developers make more DC games is the blandest possible choice, given that there are dozens of other talented studios that could refresh these characters in gaming the same way Gunn and company are attempting with the upcoming films.
Having indie developer Strange Scaffold make a tactical Ninja Turtles game is about as imaginative as it gets for superhero gaming.
When it comes to translating popular characters to gaming, companies seem better off loaning out characters to the developers best suited to handle them. Disney learned this lesson the hard way with Star Wars after its exclusivity deal with Electronic Arts didn’t reap consistent results. Marvel, meanwhile, avoided this problem, as it worked with everyone from EA Motive and Insomniac to SquareEnix and NetEase to tremendous success. Even the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have seen big gaming success with everything from 2D beat 'em up throwbacks to a turn-based tactics game made by very different studios.
There’s also little reason to have faith in the oversight of WB Games, as the publisher has repeatedly put monetization before quality. This approach has impacted several of its biggest releases, including the recently shuttered Multiversus and Suicide Squad. WB just canceled its Wonder Woman game and shuttered Monolith, WB San Diego, and Player First Games, decisions that don’t exactly engender confidence in its strategy.
Choosing an outside studio for a project could be much better for players in the long run. It’s worked extremely well for other iconic Hollywood properties, and DC’s pantheon of characters deserves that kind of creative success. It’ll be a long time before we see what comes of the DC Universe’s gaming push, but I hope these early talks don’t represent the entire scope of what’s ahead. These versions of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the rest deserve an imaginative translation to gaming, and that can only start with some bolder picks for who gets to craft their adventures.
