Is Gotham Knights a Live Service Game?

When the reveal trailer for WB Montreal’s Gotham Knights trailer aired, some excited fans weren’t sure what to think. The longstanding rumor was a new Arkham series game about the Court of Owls, and it turns out only some of that was accurate. Instead, Gotham Knights is an original story, and while it uses similar mechanics to the Arkham games it’s more of an action-RPG, with levels, numbers, skill trees, and cosmetics. It’s multiplayer, too. You can’t blame folks for thinking that trailer and the following gameplay footage screamed, “live service.” So is Gotham Knights DC Comics’ Destiny, or is it something else?

How Co-Op Works in Gotham Knights

According to WB Montreal, Gotham Knights is definitely not a “live service” sort of experience. In a recent interview with IGN, the folks representing the developer talked about what the multiplayer is like, what players can and can’t do, and what sort of plans are in place for the game’s future. Based on the answers given, it seems pretty easy to rule out the whole live service thing, at least the way we interpret those words.

Related: Gotham Knights Is A Co-Op Batman Game With No Batman, and It Looks Great 

While it’s easy to see some similarities, Gotham Knights won’t be the same kind of game Marvel’s Avengers is. Sure it’s multiplayer, but it’s only co-op that supports just two players. You aren’t going to be getting together with the squad and running through Raid challenges to fill up your Battle Pass. According to the interview, Gotham Knights is a story-based game that can be played by a single player, even offline. A second player can drop in or out if you allow it, and they can even choose the same character (which sounds hilarious and very video gamey).  

Speaking of picking the characters, the interview also notes that you can play the entirety of Gotham Knights using one character, as the story never forces you to play as one or the other. It’s all about gameplay preferences and character builds. You can also switch whenever you want, as long as you can return to the Belfry. It seems that, rather than chase the unstable service model, the team at WB Montreal just wanted to do things differently. From the outside, it looks like a mix of Arkham, Final Fight, and something like a Champions of Norrath or Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance. You know, like Diablo but chunkier and less MMO-y.

At the end of the interview, it’s somewhat teased that Gotham Knights will likely see additional story content post-launch. Obviously there’s no concrete information yet, but I wouldn’t hit the panic button for those of you not into the Destiny model. For now, it seems safe to take this stuff at face value, and consider Gotham Knights more of an action-RPG, co-op, brawler. You know, the kind with a much bigger budget than you’d usually pair with the word “brawler.”

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What do you all think? Are we reading too much out of this interview, or do you trust the team in outright stating Gotham Knights isn’t a live service? Are you disappointed there isn’t more to the multiplayer aspect, or are you satisfied with the two-player angle? Let us know over at the Prima Games Facebook and Twitter channels!