‘Batman: Arkham Shadow’ Announced Exclusively for Quest 3 From Meta-owned Studio Behind ‘Iron Man VR’

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May 1, 2024

We’ve been waiting a long time for a fully fledged Batman VR game, and now Meta announced we’re getting one later this year, exclusive to Quest 3.

Developed by Meta’s Camouflaj and Oculus Studios, and created in partnership with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC, Batman: Arkham Shadow is little more than a teaser trailer for now, appended with a “late 2024” release date.

That said, it’s likely we’re in for a Batman vs. Ratcatcher saga, as hordes of rats stream in from the streets of Gotham. The Ratcatcher, aka Otis Flannegan, was an Easter egg character in console and PC title Batman: Arkham City (2011), but has made no appreciable appearance in a Batman video game since release of the console title Batman: Dark Tomorrow (2003).

A nametag is also seen in the trailer, reading Dr. Harleen Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn.

Image courtesy Meta, Warner Bros., DC

Acquired by Meta in 2022, Camouflaj is most recently known for having developed Marvel’s Iron Man VR (2020). The PSVR timed exclusive eventually made it to the Quest platform nearly two years after its initial release, spurred by the studio’s acquisition and incorporation into Oculus Studios.

When it launched on PSVR in July 2020, Road to VR gave Iron Man VR a rating of ‘Great’ in our full review, calling it VR’s “first great superhero game,” later awarding it our PSVR Game of the Year in 2020. To say we’re expecting big things from Camouflaj is a bit of an understatement.

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Batman: Arkham Shadow promises to be the first full Batman VR game, which follows the PSVR action-puzzle game Batman: Arkham VR (2016), which includes about an hour of gameplay. We’ll be tuning into Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest on June 7 at 2:00 PM PT (local time here) to learn more, as Meta promises more details will be revealed there.

Batman: Arkham Shadow isn’t the first big budget VR game targeting Quest 3 exclusivity later this year. Earlier this week VR veteran studio Survios revealed its single-player horror game Alien: Rogue Incursion is also skipping Quest 2 and Quest Pro support when it launches “holiday 2024,” something that may signal the beginning of the end for Quest 2 and Quest Pro.

ViRGiN

Competition is great, now valve has to respond with half life alyx 2 running on valve deckard, right????
- Brandiliotious
  
  I don’t see how now that Meta is going to become the “android” of VR with third parties being able to license the OS and build their own hardware. Valve better have something brilliant up their sleeve or it’s game over.
  - ViRGiN
    
    Seeing how they have zero experience with mobile/arm, it’s probably the best scenario to just build beefed up quest 3 with OLED, and build steam link into way access for os. This way they don’t have to compete with Meta, but can get extra loyalty from steam users. One headset accessing both quest exclusives, and pcvr. Everyone getting into pcvr is already getting a quest anyway.
  - kakek
    
    I don’t think valve is releasing anything anytime soon.
    My guess is that they probably still tinker with VR behind closed doors. But without clear release objective. Because their aim is to release a mobile VR headset, with x86 compatible hardware, so that it can play existing steam VR games.
    
    Basically, steamdeck for VR.
    
    Except Technology isn’t there yet.
    
    So they’re probably making prototypes to be ready to add VR support to their steamOS until an AMD soc can run HL:Alyx decently.Wich is probably still a couple years away.
  - Nevets
    
    Ah, but Meta could well beat Valve if they release a good native cloud gaming solution, ie pc gaming with no PC required. We know they’re fixing to do just that. It depends on when they decide the time is right because they want the quality to be good which will require very high and reliable bandwidth plus up-to-date routers.
- ViRGiN
  
  I care not for competition, Meta for the win! /s (cult following)
Brandiliotious

Looking forward to this one. I hope it’s good.
Paul Bellino

Now you are Talking. If done right this could be a system seller. Now all we need is GTA……
- another juan
  
  Take-Two is amidst a massive downsizing right now: they promised to layoff 5% workforce and kill several projects. Kerbal Space Program and Olli Olli World already went kaput, hopefully, GTA:SA VR won’t be next
kakek

Yep, not playing this one then.
Ho well, I’m not necesserally a big fan of BAtman, plenty other games to play anyway.
- Juan Ritz
  
  I’ll sleep better tonight with this knowledge.
Bartholomew

Several Sony fanboys are complaining because this Batman game is a Quest 3 exclusive.
But what about Wolverine to be released as a PS5 exclusive, hypocrites?
- ViRGiN
  
  Well they aren’t whining here I guess.
  But yeah, PSVR2 fanboys are different species. Pretty much a dead platform, for a tethered fresnel headset, with games being near exclusively outdated pcvr/quest games. They got everything years late, and are fascinated by it.
  
  PSVR2 is a joke at all fronts.
  
  I also remember trying out PSVR1 in 2016 before release, and it was hilariously bad, 960p per eye, with crappy plastic toy controllers lmao. And it also did not have any audio built in…
  - FrankB
    
    Those move controllers were awful but PSVR1 also delivered Road To VR’s 10/10 title. So there’s that.
    - STL
      
      Loved the move controllers in Skyrim VR on PSVR. Sorry.
      - FrankB
        
        Don’t know why you’re apologising. People are allowed to like what they want.
- STL
  
  Sony will release PC VR connectivity for PS VR2 later this year. So it will be a Valve & Sony vs. Meta battle?
  - Bartholomew
    
    I have no idea. Valve, at the moment, seems to be more focused on the Steam Deck than VR.
    - kakek
      
      I’m betting that they are waiting for SOC tech to reach a point where they can make a mobile headset that can play steamVR games ( and specifcally Alyx) directly.
      
      A SteamDeck for VR if you will.
      
      Wich is probably a couple years away. A least.
      - marvygarvy408
        
        I am thinking end of 2025 or early 2026. At that point we should see an APU with an iGPU as powerful as a 4060 or 7600 xt. Check out the AMD APU codenamed Strix Halo. It releases in 2025
  - shadow9d9
    
    No. Limited support for pcvr with a wired fresnel headset is just sony signaling their lack of support. No games in the entire first year of psvr 2 announced by sony, followed by pcvr as a way to walk away.
    - STL
      
      Color quality, field of view and wearing comfort make the PSVR2 superior to the Quest3! While I admit the cable is an issue, it isn’t such a big one. I own both devices, so I can compare.
VR5

Iron Man VR was amazing so I have high expectations for this. Showing this at Summer Game Fest is also a good get.

Leaving the Quest 2 install base behind is risky but on the other hand for VR gaming to get really big they need to reach a lot of entirely new customers anyway. If these Quest 3 exclusives start launching in late ’24, Quest 2 got a full four years. Short for a console but long enough for people to not wait for a Quest 4 at this point in the Quest 3’s life.
- ViRGiN
  
  Normie haters will still ejaculate to ‘news’ about Meta stock ‘tanking’, and that Mark ‘the lizard man’ has ‘lost tens of billions on metaverse, lmao’.
  
  Good teaser week for VR so far.
  - VR5
    
    All these VR doom articles really show how afraid a lot of people are of VR. They’ve been trying to narrate VR out of existence for years now but it just won’t die.
    
    Agreed on it being a great news week, both Aliens and Batman are big IPs in the hands of proven dev studios.
Andrey

It’s all fun and games (no, really – I, personally, love Batman and looking forward to this game), but WHERE THE HELL IS META QUEST GAMING SHOWCASE DATE ANNOUNCEMENT?! I could understand them moving it from April to June (to more typical “gaming” month + there was a very good reason for it last year for Meta to actually move the event) and last year on May 1 they announced MQGS for June 1 – and now instead of that they just showed teaser for a new game and said “Look forward to some new information on June 7, Summer Game Fest!”. NOT on their own show, but on someone’s else. Why? They have nothing else to show – after all this time and all those acquisitions – so they don’t see a point in holding another MQGS this year or what? Very, VERY concerning.
STL

Can‘t wait to buy and play. Hoping for an open world, rather than for a strongly guided game such as Iron Man VR. In my humble opinion: AR is years away. VR video is dead, because of insufficient resolution and the much better spatial video. What remains and will certainly blossom and groom is RPG VR and similar games!
Firestorm185

Finally a VR Batman game with some action (hopefully)!