FROM THE DEVELOPERS OF
June 7, 2024
It's been fun to witness the world's reaction to the announcement of Batman: Arkham Shadow and to finally be able to talk about this game we've been building in secret since 2020.
As we expected, the game's garnered plenty of excitement within the core Meta Quest community whom (like all of us) are all about larger VR games. Last year saw the release of major titles including Asgard's Wrath II and Assassin's Creed Nexus, and this year is already looking stacked with Hitman 3 VR, Skydance's Behemoth, Alien: Rogue Incursion and Camouflaj's biggest game to date: Batman: Arkham Shadow.
Not as expected, however, was the degree to which we piqued the interest of the larger Arkham community. Despite it being many years since the most recent mainline Arkham game, its community is as vibrant as ever and is a major source of inspiration for us throughout development. Not being a traditional flat screen sequel, we knew we were taking a risk when we approached Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment about our ideas for Batman: Arkham Shadow. Since the beginning, all parties involved hold strongly to the belief that if we build something that respects the Arkham series, is canonically accurate, and leverages the power of VR to transport players into the world of Arkham like never before, we'll not only delight existing Arkham fans but also introduce an entire new audience to this incredible franchise.
Although we've been steeped in the world of Arkham Shadow for many years, the public's first impression of the game came via our teaser trailer which we shadow (heh) dropped on May 1. Partnering closely with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, DC, and Meta's internal marketing team, we sought to strike a balance between simply building awareness that a new Arkham game is incoming while infusing it with plenty of authenticity that only the most dedicated fans would notice. I initially pitched a shorter, more cryptic trailer in the vein of the teaser trailer for The Dark Knight that simply revealed the game's logo with accompanying voiceovers. Thankfully our marketing colleagues had something better in mind, which they called "The Hunt" - the tale (heh heh) of a rat being pursued by a shadowy figure through the bowels of Gotham City, leading to a reveal of the first Batman headlining game in many years. It was a brave and bold direction that I'm thrilled we committed to and took to full execution.
Our teaser trailer generated countless reaction and analysis videos, including this breakdown of most of its Easter eggs. Not wanting fans to miss any hints leading into our next trailer, I recorded this video with Caboose to point out a few more spots the community missed.
Today celebrates the debut of our story trailer for Batman: Arkham Shadow, which just premiered at Summer Game Fest. I hope you all love it
Building this trailer introduced a host of new challenges, not least of which was adjusting its content to feel fresh to those who've already seen the teaser trailer but also comprehensible to the millions who are seeing the game for the first time as part of Summer Game Fest.
For this trailer our marketing colleagues rallied around a concept entitled "Shadow Descends" which hones in on a central theme of our game - the shadow within us all - and then visualized that in a way to tell a compelling story. Featuring proto-Harley Quinn, proto-Scarecrow, Ratcatcher, Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent, Batman: Arkham Shadow features a star studded cast of beloved DC characters wrestling with the darkness inside them. None of them, however, go through a more personal journey than the star of our game: Batman. Voiced by the legendary Roger Craig Smith, players will become Batman like never before thanks to the immersive power afforded by Meta Quest 3.
Sonically, my longtime music collaborator Kazuma Jinnouchi was given the opportunity to craft an original recomposition of the classic song (and thematically relevant) "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" from The Smashing Pumpkins. Getting approvals from none other than William Corgan was a delightful - and intimidating - step in the process. (I chose not to remind him that I was the guy backstage in Seattle who talked his ear off about his love for Doom and the original Halo.) Thankfully he approved Kazuma's work, which we're all deeply grateful for. I hope you love the trailer's music as much as we do.
In addition to debuting our story trailer at Summer Game Fest, you'll notice I've been busy engaging with press and influencers to speak more about the content of Batman: Arkham Shadow. Although you'll have to wait until Gamescom to see footage from the game, I encourage you to check out these articles and videos that go in-depth into what to expect from the game when it launches later this year.
Much love to you all,
RP & Camouflaj