Now, don't get me wrong I love Batman and The Batman Beyond TV series as much as the next guy. However, when we look at the facts there is a clear indication of what's going to happen with this very well loved character. And, despite the fact that thousands of fans are no doubt dreading this fact, it's extremely unlikely that a Batman Beyond video game is ever going to happen. When we dial back to it, there are 5 major reasons why this is the case.
1. Lack of a Comic Presence
Batman is a popular character, he's in Trinity of the world's greatest superheroes. He has the biggest "family", the most popular video games and movies. However, Batman Beyond presence in the more mainstream universe is somewhat lacking. It took 9 years after the TV series ended for him to be brought into the main continuity of the comics. 4 years after this he appeared in The New 52, the latest version DC's mainstream continuity. While the central character in a series, he was killed off and replaced.
2. Bat-Who?
Batman doesn't have much of a secret identity in our world. Everyone and their pet knows that Batman is Bruce Wayne. However, not everyone knows the identity of the Batman from the future. Terry McGinnis is Batman, to the uninformed fan. To the non-fan playing the video game and they see this version of the character in the game, they're going to be stuck with the thought in their minds. "Who is this guy? He's not Batman!" True, fans will now. But not everyone is a fan.
3. Lack of a Market
According to Comichron.com, The Batman Beyond comic series in May of 2017 sold an estimated 24,093 units. Compared to the 114,173 units sold by his mainstream counterpart, Batman. To add more numbers to this statistics, Wonder Woman sold an estimated 44,114 units and Aquamansold an estimated 27,215 units. In both of these cases, it would appear that several characters have a much larger market compared to of Batman Beyond. Yet, we don't get any sort of outcry for video games for these characters.
4. 16 Years Later
It's been 16 years since Batman Beyond finished it's airing its series. While the TV series, Justice League Unlimited did feature the character at a few points, it's been a very long time since then. The character is almost completely foreign to the younger audience these days who are just getting into Batman or comics in general. Realistically speaking, people get easily confused when discussing different types of characters, even more so when they aren't fans of the comics. And when people are confused, they don't enjoy it, and when they don't enjoy it they're going to try to get their money back.
However, despite all these facts, there is one fact that could counter all of these. The fact that Batman Beyond happened in the first place. The idea was completely foreign and unknown, and it's made a lasting legacy in comics to this day. Maybe I'm wrong, or maybe I'm completely right. The future is always unknown, but what's coming is certainly beyond our knowledge right now.
