Skip to main content

Be Batman in the PlayStation VR exclusive ‘Arkham VR’

Last year’s Batman: Arkham Knight was meant to be the last game starring the caped crusader made by Rocksteady Studios. However, Sony’s E3 conference revealed that this will not be the case, as the British developer is prepping a PlayStation VR exclusive titled Batman: Arkham VR.

With Injustice for all: Superman beats up Batman in gameplay footage of Injustice 2

Despite being part of the same series, the new game will make a significant detour from the open-world action that typified previous Arkham releases. Instead, we’ll see a much bigger focus on Batman’s skills as a detective, as he becomes embroiled in a deeply personal murder mystery.

By donning the PlayStation VR headset, players will be able to be the bat like never before, carrying out their investigation from a first-person viewpoint beneath the cowl. It seems likely that gameplay will be based on the detective mode sections from earlier Arkham titles, but there was no in-game footage to be found in the trailer.

However, we did hear the unmistakable voice of Mark Hamill as The Joker, taunting Batman about his masked persona. The Arkham series has often been criticized for an over-reliance on the clown prince of crime, but it’s easy to see how a compelling performance from Hamill could benefit a VR experience like this one — his frequent conversations with Batman in Arkham Knight were among the best parts of the game.

Arkham VR is set to give players access to a few key elements of the Batman experience that were absent from the rest of the series. The game will allow players to explore Wayne Manor before taking the plunge down into the Batcave, according to a post written by principal designer Bill Green for the PlayStation Blog.

Unlike some of the other big reveals from E3 2016, Arkham VR isn’t too far from release. Rocksteady Studios plans to have the game ready to launch in October 2016, which puts it squarely in PlayStation VR’s planned release window.

Editors' Recommendations

Brad Jones
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…
PlayStation lays off 900 people and shuts down London Studio
The PlayStation Studios logo in black and white.

Sony is the latest company in the video game industry to announce massive layoffs in 2024. We've learned that Sony Interactive Entertainment is letting go of about 900 people across several studios; PlayStation's London Studio will shut down as a result.

In a blog post, soon-to-depart Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan says these cuts amount to about 8% of PlayStation's workforce. "Through discussions over the past few months about the evolving economic landscape, changes in the way we develop, distribute, and launch products, and ensuring our organization is future ready in this rapidly changing industry, we have concluded that tough decisions have become inevitable," Ryan explains. "The leadership team and I made the incredibly difficult decision to restructure operations, which regrettably includes a reduction in our workforce impacting very talented individuals who have contributed to our success."

Read more
PC compatibility for the PlayStation VR2 is being tested by Sony
Playstation VR2 headset on a PlayStation-themed wallpaper.

To celebrate the first anniversary of the PlayStation VR2, Sony revealed a new batch of games coming to its virtual reality headset and confirmed that it's testing a feature that would let people play PC VR games on their PSVR2.

"We’re pleased to share that we are currently testing the ability for PS VR2 players to access additional games on PC to offer even more game variety in addition to the PSVR2 titles available through PS5," the PlayStation Blog post about PSVR2's first anniversary teases. "We hope to make this support available in 2024, so stay tuned for more updates."

Read more
One year later, my PlayStation VR2 is collecting dust
The PlayStation VR2 sits on a table next to Sense controllers.

One year ago, I took my first step into virtual reality with the PlayStation VR2. One year later, I haven't walked much further.

I spent a long time watching the VR sect of the gaming medium from the sidelines, curious about this new form of interaction, but never taking the full plunge. Impressed with the PSVR2’s specs and confident in Sony’s first-party capabilities, I bought it at launch in February 2022. After a week of use, I wrote that I “anticipate it’ll be a very supplemental gaming style for me in the future, not something I’ll want to do for hours every day.”

Read more