Former Suicide Squad dev debunks plot leaks as new image appears to reveal a live-service battle pass

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is set to launch later this year on May 26. For the fifth entry in the Batman Arkham series, the developer Rocksteady Studios is swapping out the single-player Batman-focused formula for a co-op adventure starring the titular group of supervillains. With the game now mere months away, the rumour mill is well and truly in motion, with one leak claiming to reveal key details about the game's narrative and another suggesting it will have live-service elements.

The alleged plot details that recently surfaced on 4chan are pretty outlandish and should be taken with a huge grain of salt. Still, they could potentially contain spoilers, so if you'd rather not take the risk, avert your eyes now. 

To give you a few examples, according to the post, Aquaman appears at the very beginning of the game only to be "comedically" killed off by King Shark. You also supposedly kill off all members of the Justice League except for Wonder Woman and The Flash. The leaker also claims that Earth is doomed, and in order to save it, Wonder Woman tells the Squad about "Flashpoint Protocol", leading them on a mission to turn back time. In the process, the group is ambushed by Batman, who's trying to fight mind control.

Fans were less than impressed by the supposed plot leaks, with one describing them on Twitter as "bad fanfiction". In response to the comment Del Walker who worked as a senior character artist at Rocksteady until 2021, appeared to debunk the claims, saying that the developers found them funny. "lol don't worry about the devs. They're laughing, "he wrote.

The other leak is of an image that suggests that Suicide Squad will follow a live service model. The image, which also surfaced on 4chan, reportedly shows the game's menu. Across the top of the screen, tabs for "Battle Pass", "Social", and "Store", can be seen, and look a little closer, and you'll also spot what appears to be various in-game currencies displayed beneath those tabs.

According to VGC, a development source has confirmed that a battle pass is planned for the game but says that it will be dedicated to cosmetic items such as skins. Additionally, the source claims that the various currencies in the image are a form of XP for upgrading your characters and customising their skill trees. "You don't start off debuffed and weak," the source told VGC. "You just start off great and can get ridiculous, like Arkham Knight's Batman."

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was due to launch in 2022 but was delayed to the current release window back in March last year. "That time is going into making the best game we can," Rocksteady creative director and co-founder Sefton Hill said at the time.

Check out what else is launching this year with our guide to new games 2023.