A new rumor claims there is a triple-ASupermangame in development, with it coming out of a recently surfaced regulatory filing, but this claim is almost certainly false. The claim is just the latest in a long list of head-turning public disclosures stemming fromMicrosoft’s efforts to close its pending Activision Blizzard acquisition.The company’s ongoing back-and-forth with both regulators and Sony—the biggest non-government opponent of the deal—has so far brought plenty of both companies' plans to the public eye prematurely. A recent ruling from the FTC evenordered Sony to reveal trade secrets to Microsoftin what turned out to be the arguably biggest consequence of the Japanese gaming giant’s continued pushback against the acquisition to date.RELATED:Next PlayStation PC Port Might Have Leaked via Job ListingThat might not be the only occasion on which Sony was forced to disclose sensitive information to its rival, as Microsoft’s legal counsel appears to believe a PS5-exclusiveSupermangame is in the works, seemingly saying as much in a recent filing with the UK Competition and Markets Authority. The March 2 document, spotted by ResetEra forum user Angie, mentions “God of WarorSuperman” as some of the major PlayStation exclusives that Microsoft’s attorneys claim aren’t consequential to Xbox console sales, concluding that owningCall of Dutythus wouldn’t provide the company with an unfair platform advantage over Sony. While some fans ran away with this as a rumor, the surrounding context clearly implies this was not the intent.
It’s more likely that this is a typo for Spider-Man than actual confirmation of a new Superman game. The filing is arguing how certain exclusives impact sale performance, and an unreleased game cannot do that after all. Furthermore, even if a triple-ASupermangame is in the works, it’s dubious whether DC Comics' parent Warner Bros. would have agreed to make it a PlayStation exclusive. As illustrated by the massive success ofHogwarts Legacy, the company has every incentive to put out its biggest IPs on as many platforms as possible. It’s also unlikely that the mention of an unannouncedSupermangame wouldn’t have been redacted from the filing prior to hitting the public domain, like what recently happened with thecodename of Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox console.
The Man of Steel’s last video game appearance was inMultiVersus, a 2022 free-to-play fighting game from Player First that’s still in open beta as of March 2023. Rocksteady Studios’Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewill also feature Superman as a villain, but his last standalone title was released almost 17 years ago:Superman Returnsfor the PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS.
One of the main reasons why Warner Bros. likely remains reluctant to invest in anotherSupermangame is that creating one is a challenge at best and impossible at worst. Playing as a near-omnipotent protagonist runs the risk of boring players after a short while, and crippling Superman’s abilities just to create more compelling gameplay wouldn’t make sense. Fan backlash to either would be just about guaranteed.
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