This year's Gamescom Opening Night Live ceremony had its fair share of exciting reveals, but in a rather surprising turn of events, a LEGO game stole the show for many viewers. Despite getting an impressive new look at Resident Evil Requiem and a full gameplay reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, it's LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight that's sparked the most fervent excitement following its ONL debut.
Set for release in 2026, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is TT Games' next licensed project following LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga's release in 2022. And while LEGO Batman seems to be building on The Skywalker Saga's solid groundwork, it's making some exciting changes too.
How LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Elevated The Classic LEGO Game Formula
The Foundations of the LEGO Game Formula
Licensed LEGO games have maintained the same general formula since the first LEGO Star Wars' release all the way back in 2005. The vast majority of licensed LEGO games take a handful of popular movies and condense them down into a set of bite-sized missions, each one recreating key moments and set pieces that are usually given a humorous, tongue-in-cheek spin. Scattered throughout these missions are a bevy of collectibles, ranging from the iconic Minikits to the gameplay-modifying Red Bricks.
Though most licensed LEGO games adapt movies directly, the LEGO Batman and LEGO Marvel Superheroes games are exceptions, choosing to tell their own original stories set in a licensed universe.
Building on Those Foundations
This licensed LEGO game formula has stayed largely the same for two decades now, albeit with a few innovations and additions over the years. LEGO Batman 2, for instance, brought an open world to the table, and LEGO DC Super-Villains put a stronger emphasis on custom characters and RPG elements. But while the formula has gotten more complex over the years, its core DNA can still easily be traced back to 2005's LEGO Star Wars.
The Culmination of the LEGO Game Formula
Four years after LEGO DC Super-Villains, TT Games returned with LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, an entry designed to push the LEGO formula into the modern age of gaming. Along with a character class system, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga delivered 20+ open-world hubs, 300+ playable characters, a host of space combat mechanics, more collectibles than ever before, and it adapted a total of nine movies.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was an incredibly ambitious game, and while it was far from perfect, it largely achieved what it set out to do, forging a strong foundation for future LEGO video games.
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Is Putting a New Spin on The Skywalker Saga's Formula
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight will be the first TT Games title to build on The Skywalker Saga's foundation, and it's approaching it in a very interesting way. Unlike The Skywalker Saga and the majority of past licensed LEGO games, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight isn't adapting any movies directly. Instead, it's telling its own version of the Caped Crusader's crimefighting career, albeit one that pays homage to a ton of past Batman media along the way.
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight's reveal trailer already showed direct recreations of scenes from The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Batman, and a variety of other Batman movies, shows, and even video games have already been referenced via the game's character designs, mechanics, and unlockable Batsuits and Batmobiles.
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight's Approach Could Side-Step a Common Skywalker Saga Criticism
One of the most prevalent criticisms levied at LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga when it first released was the game's approach to adapting the titular movie franchise. Put simply, The Skywalker Saga's movie-based story missions were a mixed bag, with many feeling rushed. Many of these missions also took place in The Skywalker Saga's open world, lacking proper set pieces and distinct narrative moments.
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight looks like it could be avoiding this criticism already by delivering the best of both worlds. By telling its own original version of well-known events, LEGO Batman isn't forced to adapt any specific moments or follow a pre-existing story. Instead, it can take its time and focus on delivering the gameplay set pieces and humor that fans expect from a LEGO game. And by referencing specific moments and character/vehicle designs from past Batman media, LEGO Batman can still deliver plenty of fan-service.
- Released
- May 29, 2026
- Developer(s)
- TT Games
- Publisher(s)
- Warner Bros. Games
- Franchise
- LEGO Batman
- PC Release Date
- May 29, 2026
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure, Superhero, Open-World
