WB Games Montreal, the studio behind Gotham Knights and Batman: Arkham Origins, has a known history with ambitious projects that ultimately didn’t see the light of day. Before pivoting to Gotham Knights, the studio reportedly worked on several cancelled titles, including a potential Suicide Squad game and other concepts set within the beloved Arkhamverse.
Among these scrapped ideas was a significant project, reportedly codenamed “Project Sabbath.” This game was intended to be a direct sequel to Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Knight, planned for a potential 2015 release. Set approximately ten years after the events of Arkham Knight, Project Sabbath would have seen an older Bruce Wayne pass the mantle to his son, Damian Wayne, as the new Batman. This concept seemingly drew inspiration from the Batman Beyond storyline, exploring a future Gotham with a new Caped Crusader.
While concept art from cancelled WB Montreal projects has surfaced before, a fresh batch of visuals for Project Sabbath has recently appeared online. Discovered on ArtStation and highlighted by “Batman Arkham Videos,” these images were created by character artist Rodrigue Pralier, who described them as “early researches” for a “cancelled 2015 project.”
A Glimpse into Project Sabbath’s World
The newly revealed concept art offers a fascinating look at the characters that would have populated this unreleased game. Prominently featured is Damian Wayne, depicted front and center wearing the iconic Batman cowl. The art also showcases an older-looking Bruce Wayne, alongside character designs for formidable villains like Killer Croc and the vigilante Huntress.
Interestingly, reports suggest that the art style presented in Pralier’s concepts might have taken a different artistic direction compared to the established aesthetic of characters in previous Arkham universe titles.
Beyond the characters seen in the recently surfaced art, further details suggest Project Sabbath aimed to feature a diverse rogues gallery and supporting cast. The game was reportedly planned to include the daughter of Black Mask, a revived Poison Ivy, and even a unique take on Two-Face, presenting him in a more extreme, law-abiding persona known as “The Judge.”
Cancelled Projects and the Future of Gotham
Project Sabbath is just one example of projects that didn’t make it out of WB Games Montreal. The studio was also reportedly contributing to Monolith Productions’ Wonder Woman game before that project was apparently shuttered. An alleged pitch for a Game of Thrones title also remains unconfirmed.
Despite these cancellations, Warner Bros. has indicated a continued focus on core franchises, including Batman, for future game development. However, even if a new single-player Batman game is in the works (perhaps by Rocksteady, as some rumors suggest), it’s widely speculated that it would start fresh and not utilize the specific assets, concepts, or the Project Sabbath codename from this cancelled 2015 game. The unearthed concept art likely represents the closest fans will get to seeing this particular vision for a Damian Wayne-led Arkham sequel come to life.
These leaked visuals provide a valuable, albeit bittersweet, look at a potentially exciting chapter for the Batman universe that never progressed beyond the early research phase.
