The Batman Arkham trilogy still stands as one of the best examples of the superhero genre in video game history, giving us all the tools we needed to play as the Caped Crusader in a moody and atmospheric rendition of Gotham and the titular Arkham Asylum.
Rocksteady did a great job of allowing us to feel what it might be like to be Bruce Wayne and Batman, beating up bad guys in a way that felt impactful and exciting, as well as bringing the high stakes storytelling that the character has become known for.
That series wasn't the only Batman-focused video game release in development at the time, as another game never saw the light of day that could have blown expectations out the water in its own right.
Monolith Batman Gameplay Leaks and it Could Have Been Incredible
As first reported by Kotaku, gameplay footage from a cancelled Batman game developed by Monolith has emerged online, and it might have had all the ingredients to really make an impact if players ever got their hands on it.
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The footage comes via retro game archivist MrTalida, with all of it dating to either 2009 or 2010, and it makes it clear that they had made a considerable amount of progress towards the finished game in relatively short order.
Internally titled Project Apollo, we first saw some footage from the cancelled project back in 2024, but this latest leak gives us a much more detailed look as some specific elements of the game.
Those include the stellar work that had been done on the “Tumbler,” Batman’s chonky version of the Batmobile that has some quite complex movement mechanics that allow it to move in most directions with ease.
The game itself was designed to be directly connected to the Christopher Nolan series of films, within which The Dark Knight had been released a year before this footage of the game was taken.
Though we don't know when the story would have taken place in relation to that timeline, it certainly would have been cool to see some additional elements of lore that the movies weren't able to cover.
Developer Monolith Productions were unfortunately shut down by parent company Warner Bros. in 2025, though not before they delivered two all-time great releases in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War.
It’s difficult to be too torn up about this cancellation, given how stunning the Rocksteady games were, but more Batman games are always a good thing, so it’s a shame this one fell by the wayside.