E3 may have been delayed this year, along with announcements and plans for hundreds of developers and publishers, but that itself will not stop the onslaught of news for upcoming titles for this year and beyond. With the next console generation in sight later this year, and highly anticipated titles already on a lot of players’ minds, it’s makes sense that rumors and speculation are bound to leak eventually.
Warner Brothers Games’ presence for this year’s E3 was one of the most highly anticipated, as the publisher owns several DC properties that are serious contenders for next-gen console titles. It’s not surprising in the least that a lot of rumors about their IPs were bound to pop up, including this collection from a thread on ResetEra. Reminder to take everything that follows with a grain of salt.
The supposed leak involves four upcoming games from Warner Brothers, with three of them eyed for release later this year and a fourth one in the works for 2022. While the original poster expressed doubt on the veracity of these leaks, some commenters noted that there are some truths to the following rumors.
- Hitman 3 – the third and final game in IO Interactive’s reboot trilogy. According to the rumor, it’s set to be released in Holiday 2020, coinciding with the launch window of the next generation consoles. Buying the Deluxe Edition gives players access to all previous base and DLC locations from Hitman and Hitman 2, with optional co-op for three missions as well.
- Batman (2020) – the most prominent of the leaks sees both Roger Craig Smith and Troy Baker returning to their roles as both Batman and Joker, respectively. According to the rumor, this will be a soft reboot with no connections to other Arkham games, as well as ignoring all previous plot points. That said, the mechanics and gameplay will largely remain the same. Playable members of the Batman family include Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl, while the villains consist of Joker, Harley Quinn, Court of Owls, Ra's al Ghul, Penguin, Riddler, Dollmaker, Clock King and Black Mask. The game is said to be slated for a Fall 2020 release.
- Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath – perhaps the likeliest of the rumors, due to this only being a new edition for the existing game. This includes two new packs of characters, six arenas and three story chapters which will be released over the next two years. New characters are said to include Takeda, Reiko, Quan Chi, Fujin and Ash Williams – who is Bruce Campbell’s character in the Evil Dead series. The release for this expansion is set for sometime this summer.
- Injustice 3 – the supposed finale of the Injustice trilogy will reportedly feature two story modes and will be developer Netherrealm’s first offering for the next generation of consoles. The cast of characters are said to include John Constantine, Huntress, Penguin, Etrigan, Killer Croc, Zatanna, Doctor Manhattan and – surprisingly – Neo, Keanu Reeves’ character from The Matrix series. This may serve as a cross-promotion, as a fourth Matrix film is currently in the works with Reeves set to reprise his role. A Tournament mode similar to Mortal Kombat 11’s Kombat League is also being planned, and it will reportedly be called Infinite Crisis. Nekron, the primary antagonist of the ‘Blackest Night’ storyline, will reportedly serve as the game’s villain. Injustice 3's release window is being eyed for 2022.
Whatever the case may be with these rumors, it’s still important to take everything with a grain of salt until confirmed.
