The next Batman game is Gotham Knights, and Batman's dead

Revealed at today's DC Fandome livestream, Gotham Knights is the next game from WB Games Montreal, and it stars Batman's four successors in a world where Batman is no more. Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood are the new heroes in Gotham, and they've got to team up to stop a plan that looks to involve the normal variety of Batman villains.

Shortly after the above cinematic, WB also released a gameplay video showcasing Batgirl and Robin going head-to-head with Mr. Freeze. Sadly, he does not say "cool it," but maybe they're holding that one back for later.

During the gameplay, the perspective switches back and forth between the two characters, and all of the game will be playable in two-player co-op.

The cinematic trailer outlines the story: Batman is apparently dead, and he has triggered an emergency protocol to summon his proteges to protect his city now that he's gone. If you remember the ending of Batman: Arkham Knight then this is no surprise.

"If you're watching this, I'm dead, This is a code black," says the trailer voiceover. "This message was automatically triggered when I destroyed the cave and everything in it."

Now, Batman's successors are going to team up to figure out what's going on with the Bat, and what's going on in Gotham. The story will apparently crib from the popular Court of Owls comic storyline, though per the developers that's not the only thing going on.

In the trailer we see Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Robin, and Red Hood all suiting up for combat. Each will have their own unique, customizable style of combat, per the developers. Nightwing seems to be acrobatic and stealthy. Batgirl fights a lot like Batman, though she uses tonfas to take down enemies and acrobatically wall-runs into kicks. Robin, specifically Red Robin, likely with Tim Drake in the suit, seems acrobatic and fast, just as you'd expect. Meanwhile, Red Hood appears to have the dangerous superpower known commonly has "having guns."

Gotham Knights will release in 2021. Also, I'm calling it now: Batman's not really dead, and you'll unlock him as playable near the end for your New Game+ run.

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(Image credit: WB Games Montreal)

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.