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He is one of the most popular and recognizable characters of all time. In any medium. In any country. Take a few steps outside of the comic book community and Superman is the face of the industry. So why, when the Man of Steel remains one of the biggest brands on the planet, can’t we get a good Superman video game? 
The problem, as is often the case when talking about DC characters, is Batman.

This isn’t a hate piece about Batman. I have plenty of love for the character. However, Superman and most other DC characters, are a victim of the Dark Knight’s success. Sure, there are problems with making a game around Superman, whose defining characteristic is that he is stronger, faster, and generally better at everything than everyone around him. How do you balance a game around that? How do you increase the challenge rating for a character who can bench press the Sun as a starting point? These are valid questions but they aren’t the reason no one is even trying to make a Superman game.

Here is the thing about the video game industry at the moment; most studios are owned by someone else. Because they don’t know how to share, most studios that make games that feature DC characters are owned by Warner Bros, who also owns DC itself. And Warner Bros. has learned over the years that Batman sells. His comics sell. Comics featuring him sell. His movies, TV shows, and games sell. He is considered a safe property, which is why they are happy to pump out as much stuff with Batman’s cowled face on it; he is an excuse to print money.

And you know what? They’re right. Taking a look at box office receipts, the highest-grossing Superman movie (not including Batman vs Superman) is 2013’s Man of Steel at $291 million. Three Batman movies have grossed more at the box office than it did. The best-selling comic book of 2024 was Absolute Batman #1. Superman didn’t even get mentioned in our breakdown of that information, nor did any other DC character. It is clear that he is the top dog at DC at the moment and he has been for a long time.

Where does that leave everyone else? Well, we’re not getting the Wonder Woman game we thought we were, for starters. And the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League live-service game that landed like a lead balloon got its final update. Even DC-adjacent games like Multiversus are either being shelved or having their servers turned off, so it is pretty quiet on that front. And there hasn’t been a stand-alone Superman game that didn’t feature other DC characters in almost 20 years when we had a Superman Returns game tie-in.

There is something almost sad about Warner Bros' inability to create a successful Superman video game to the point where they seem to have stopped trying. It is a shame because we can see characters on the Marvel side thriving. We’ve had three great Spider-Man games from Insomniac, who are (presumably) also working on a Wolverine game. There is Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra and an Iron Man game also in development, plus the increasingly popular Marvel Rivals. There is a market for superhero games that DC just hasn’t been able to tap into with anyone other than Batman.

What would a great Superman game look like? We’re not here to tell developers what to do, but we are going to tell them how to do their job for a second. Sure, there are balance issues around a Superman game, like we mentioned before, but there are ways around it. Throw in some stealth bits as Clark Kent as a reporter. Make the game level-based rather than open-world so that the developers can control the challenge a bit better.

And you know what? Celebrate Superman through the ages. Start him as a street-level hero “leaping all buildings in a single bound” and gradually give him more strength, more invulnerability. Heat vision. X-ray vision. All that stuff can be unlocked as the Man of Steel faces new challenges. You know, like a video game. 
Will it ever happen? Who knows. Gaming is in a weird place right now with developers unwilling to take big risks, but a good Superman game doesn’t feel like a risk. It sounds like a great time for everyone, especially players.

James Gunn's Superman movie is out now - and we have a lot to say about it. You can also read about Superman's S-Shield through the ages, how Superman and Clark Kent keep their secret identity secret, our recs for best Superman comics, and how to watch all his TV series and movies in order.