Warner plans more quality DC Comics tie-ins following Batman success

Warner Bros Interactive's Montreal studio is planning a number of new games based DC Comics IP following the success of Rocksteady's two recent Batman titles.

Speaking in an interview with Canadian Business, studio head Martin Carrier explained that the new Montreal hub is focussed on various DC projects, none of which have yet been announced.

He went on to offer assurance that whatever it does produce will take inspiration from Rocksteady's sterling work.

"We realise how good a job Rocksteady did with Arkham Asylum," he said.

"They changed people's perceptions and that's why we're not satisfied anymore with sub-par superhero games. Now, it's like they should be better than all the other games."

His colleague Reid Schneider added that the studio was under no pressure to tie games into movie releases. Instead, quality will be the key.

"No, we're not going in that direction. It's really about make the game what it needs to be and forget the movies," he promised.

Schneider argued that the age of the quick, cheap movie tie-ins has passed.

"We can't speak for everyone, but if you just look at the market, the number of those and the money they're bringing in is dwindling. Those days where publishers could do stuff like that and make money from it, it's just not the same.

"There's a real stratification of games where only the really high-quality games with mass market appeal are making money. That whole middle layer, where there were movie games or cash-ins-that market is gone."

Give Eurogamer's Batman: Arkham City review a read for a better idea of what Schneider and Carrier have to live up to.