Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Everything We Know

Rocksteady’s last game, Batman: Arkham Knight, released in 2015, which means it has been seven years since we played a new Rocksteady game. In video game time, that is an eternity. As a four-player co-op shooter, Suicide Squad is a big departure from its previous single-player action games, but we’re excited to see the studio tackle something new… even if it is taking place in a familiar universe.

As we head into Summer Game Fest and all the various Not-E3 summer events, we decided to check in on Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and outline everything we know about the game ahead of its 2023 release.

Release date

Despite the game’s announcement and follow-up trailers boldly proclaiming a 2022 release window, Rocksteady announced earlier this year that it had made the “difficult decision” to push the game to 2023. On Steam, Suicide Squad is listed with a vague 2023 release date. On the PlayStation Store, the section of the page that would typically feature a release date simply displays the word, “Announced”.

What we know

Suicide Squad is four-player co-op shooter that takes place after the events of the Batman Arkham trilogy of games and is set in Superman’s Metropolis. Following the city being taken over by Brainiac, high-ranking government official Amanda Waller assembes Task Force X, using Arkham Asylum as her base of operations. Waller then recruits Arkham’s most menacing minds to enter the invaded city and kill the members of the Justice League, most of whom appear to be under the control of Brainiac.

Task Force X is staffed by Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and King Shark. Waller has ordered them, under threat of blowing up their heads, to kill the Justice League, which is currently composed of Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and potentially more. Wonder Woman is also present, but the footage shared in various trailers hints that she is not under the control of Brainiac. In fact, she is briefly seen fighting Superman in the most recent trailer for the game.

A few other characters have been shown, like Gizmo, the Teen Titans antagonist, and Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepot with his broken glass bottle monocle from the Arkham games. There are a few references to Batman in the trailers even though he hasn’t actually physically appeared. After the events of Arkham Knight, it’s entirely possible that he is dead after enacting the Knightfall Protocol and blowing up Wayne Manor.

The gameplay we’ve seen so far places an emphasis on cooperation, movement, and shooting. Harley Quinn uses a hookshot that attaches to floating bat-shaped platforms. Captain Boomerang uses some kind of warping technology to zip around the environment. Deadshot uses a jetpack to fly that can also be used as an offensive weapon. King Shark can jump incredible distances and also scale walls at high speed. Using all these abilities in tandem, the team has been shown fighting Brainiac’s invading alien army.

The trailer features a few other teases, as well. There is a single shot of a vehicle with a bat symbol on the front shown driving through the city. It’s not the Batmobile, at least not one that has been in the Arkham games, but it does hint at the potential of driving to move around Metropolis.

What we want

Primarily, the main thing we want from Suicide Squad is a new Rocksteady game. The developer has proven itself multiple times over by creating not only some of the best licensed games ever, but also some of the best games ever. Its Batman Arkham trilogy is an undeniable showcase of technical know-how, game design, and fun storytelling. Our hopes for Suicide Squad is that it meets the high standards the studio has set for itself with its past games.

Rocksteady has confirmed Suicide Squad does take place inside its established Arkham Universe and we hope it acknowledges the groundwork it laid for its Batman games and picks up where Arkham Knight left off. It may be following new characters in a new city, but hopefully it doesn’t undo some of its boldest narrative decisions, like killing the Joker and leaving Batman and Alfred’s fate up in the air with Arkham Knight’s cliffhanger ending.

In the long term, we’d like to see more members of Suicide Squad be playable characters (Peacemaker is so hot right now) as well as new opponents to fight (what about Aquaman?). We also hope it is fun to play whether you’re alone, or with others.

Platforms

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is releasing for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. It was never officially announced for PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, but rumors and reporting prior to its official debut say that a last-gen version was in development at one time before they were abandoned and it became an exclusively next-gen title.

PC system specs

The game’s Steam page does not currently offer any details about system specs, but considering it will not be releasing for the previous generation of home consoles, it’s safe to assume it will be demanding.

Trailers

The announcement trailer is a pre-rendered affair, but it establishes the tone and gameplay style of the game, and also introduces evil Superman.

The second trailer focuses primarily on The Flash in terms of story, but also shows off plenty of gameplay.

The third trailer is the most dense and offers the most insight into the game’s story showing off characters like Amanda Waller and Gizmo, as well as the main Suicide Squad cast and the majority of the Justice League. This is the trailer that makes it the most clear that Wonder Woman is not under Brainiac’s control.

Multiplayer details

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is a four-player co-op game, but Rocksteady has assured the game can be played single-player. It’s unlikely the game will offer split-screen, but Rocksteady has neither confirmed nor denied this feature.

Price and Preorder details

There is currently no way to pre-order the game either through retailers or through first-party platforms. On Steam and the PlayStation Store you can only add the game to your wishlist. There is no store page for the game on Xbox yet.