Batman: Arkham Knight - 8 Reasons It Should End The Franchise

3. Next-Gen Development Time Isn't Worth It

Another blow to next generation-adopters (and make no mistake, it's still next gen at this point) was the delay of Arkham Knight into (what looks to be) February next year. With increased graphical heft and some game-worlds now resembling that of small chunks of countries, game developers are devoting large parts of their entire lives to putting games out, and when that game is itself already a small iteration on an established title, it begs the question of making sure it's really worth it from every angle. With Watch Dogs being in development for five years and coming out to the internet fanfare of a firework display that went off like a wet fart, it's proving time and time again that with game release schedules being what they are, developers need to be doubly sure of the project they're working on. More to the point, it's a double-edged sword, because if we look at Watch Dogs it very much feels like a game that belongs in the last console generation, whereas with Arkham Knight lengthening the gap between Origins - and especially Arkham City - it could rekindle that nostalgic urge we've got to replay something like Arkham Asylum whenever a screenshot pops up anywhere. The flip-side of course being that after the tech is in place, the game engine is given to another developer and we've got another sequel within a year. Time will tell, but the question of what and where the series can go from here is definitely a large one considering how many person-hours are being crammed into development.