Is 'Gotham Knights' a Sequel? Where the New DC Game Takes Place in the "Arkhamverse"

With Black Adam getting the cold shoulder from film critics, Flash movie star Ezra Miller facing jail time, and the general state of Warner Bros. in disarray, the studio could use a win at some point. Hopefully, Gotham Knights will be able to give them a small victory. The new game allows you to play as one of four members of Gotham's crime-fighting Bat Family. You can choose from Batgirl, Nightwing, Robin, or Red Hood, and even go co-op with other players throughout the story.

The game comes off the reputable heels of the Arkham series of Batman games. Having launched with the release of Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009, the franchise is well-remembered for its critically-acclaimed installments with 2011's Arkham City and 2015's Arkham Knight (not to mention a 2013 prequel that no one really liked).

Gotham Knights seems to take plenty of cues from the fan-appointed "Arkhamverse," but does that make it a sequel to the series? You could easily interpret it as one.

Gotham Knights takes place shortly after the untimely death of Bruce Wayne aka Batman. His absence has caused an historic increase of crime throughout Gotham City.

In a private video sent to his crime-fighting proteges, he entrusts each of them with keeping the city safe from its many criminals in his stead. Throughout the story, the members of the Bat Family encounter several notable Gotham villains, including a new and dangerous organization known as the Court of Owls.

Fans of the Arkham games will certainly notice connections between the story of Gotham Knights and the ending of Batman: Arkham Knight. At the end of Arkham Knight, Batman's secret identity as Bruce Wayne is revealed to the world. In order to protect his loved ones, Batman initiates the "Knightfall Protocol." This contingency plan seemingly results in the public death of Bruce Wayne as Wayne Manor is blown up with him and his butler Alfred Pennyworth still inside.

The true nature of the Knightfall Protocol is never fully explained, but Bruce still entrusts the safety of Gotham to his remaining heroes.

Gotham Knights could have easily picked up where Arkham Knight left off, but does it really?

As it turns out, it doesn't. Shortly after the game's announcement in 2020, the dev team at WB Games Montreal confirmed via ComicBook.com that Gotham Knights does not take place in the Arkhamverse.

"Gotham Knights is an original story set in DC's Batman Universe and [is] not connected to the Arkham series," WB Montreal told ComicBook.com.

Though the premise of the game draws heavily from the ending of Arkham Knight, there are several inconsistencies between them. For one, Alfred is still alive in Gotham Knights as he guides the sidekicks in protecting the city, whereas his fate was ambiguous at the end of the Arkham series. Police Commissioner Jim Gordon is dead by the beginning of Gotham, but he is alive and well in the Arkhamverse games.

Much like the titular Knights in the new title, Gotham Knights as a game seeks to carve out its own legacy among DC-based video games.

Gotham Knights will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on Oct. 21.