Why Hasn't There Been A New Superman Game? - Warworld Saga Concept

With James Gunn’s Superman, now is the perfect moment for WB Games to announce a new Superman game. From Superman 64’s disaster to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, why has no Superman game worked? A Warworld Saga-inspired game could FINALLY crack the code—with God of War-style progression, Nemesis System enemies, and an open-world space epic.

Why hasn’t there been a truly great Superman video game?

Superman continues to live in our imaginations for nearly a century — Yet for all his cultural dominance, that question still remains.

It’s a month to the new Superman movie, and I just wanted to explore how he has shaped pop culture, how video games have failed him, and stay with me as I share my pitch for the perfect Superman game.

Superman's Legacy (Why is Superman so popular?)

“Faster than a speeding bullet, stronger than a locomotive, leaping tall buildings in a single bound.”

Since his 1938 debut in Action Comics #1, Superman wasn’t just a superhero — he was the superhero. Across decades, he’s reflected the spirit of every era:

• A hopeful symbol during WWII

• A wholesome icon in the 1950s

• A moral paragon in the Christopher Reeve films

• A more grounded, conflicted figure in Man of Steel

Today, he’s more relevant than ever. James Gunn’s upcoming Superman film isn't just a reboot — it’s meant to save the DC Universe. If successful, it will forge a new synergy between DC films and games. That makes now the most crucial opportunity to deliver the Superman game fans have been clamouring for.

Alien. Human. Superman. (Who is Superman?)

At his core, Superman is 3 things:

• An immigrant story

• A symbol of hope

• A mythological figure, a god amongst men.

Designing a game around that comes with enormous challenges:

• How do you balance near-invincibility with real stakes?

• How do you make players feel powerful without getting bored?

Even indie developers have taken a stab:

• Undefeated (2019): is a free demo that nailed the fantasy of Superman’s flight and strength

• There was also the viral Unreal Engine 5 demo, yet again proving the demand is real

But the real challenge isn’t just powers. It’s making us feel what it means to be Kal-El, Clark Kent, and Superman — to embody his compassion, humanity and resolve.

Kryptonite and Consoles (Superman's video game history)

Superman’s video game history is a phantom zone of missed opportunities:

• Superman on the Atari 2600 was primitive, but ambitious for 1979.

• Superman for the NES (1987) was widely panned for poor controls and graphics.

• In 1994, Superman: The Death and Return of Superman for the Super Nintendo was a favourite of mine and a solid beat-em-up based on the iconic comic arc.

• Superman 64 for the Nintendo 64 (1999) is widely known as one of the worst-reviewed games of all time. Infamous for broken controls and awful flying-through-the-rings missions.

• Superman Returns was a movie tie-in that had (PS2/Xbox, 2006) great flying mechanics and an innovative health bar for the city of Metropolis instead of Superman. But ultimately, it had repetitive missions and a lifeless world.

Why Arkham Worked and Superman Didn’t

On the flip side, The Arkham Trilogy (Rocksteady Studios, 2009-2015) worked because it captured the essence of Batman:

• It showcased his power through gadgets

• It had a tight premise beginning with Asylum, which expanded the universe and map across two sequels

• It also balanced combat, stealth, and detective mechanics

Superman, by contrast, presents design headaches:

• His power levels are difficult to scale - too powerful, too boring, too weak, not Super enough.

• And Metropolis as a setting often feels insipid and sterile compared to Gotham

• Superman’s also motivated more by saving, and not punishing

Copying Arkham won't cut it. Superman needs a game that revolves around hope, sacrifice, and unleashing his powers.

After the disappointment of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (2024), which reduced Superman to a Brainiac-controlled puppet, fans are hungry for something genuine. If you want to know my thoughts, check out my deep dive on why Suicide Squad failed.

The demand is clear: players want a game that treats Superman seriously. That’s where Superman: Warworld comes in. Here’s my pitch for a Superman game.

Superman: Warworld

The Game

Superman: Warworld would be a semi-open world, third-person, narrative-driven action RPG. Structurally inspired by God of War (2018). With the traversal fluidity of Spider-Man and the narrative weight of a prestige HBO series. The Nemesis system, patented by Warner Bros, and squandered by the now-cancelled Wonder Woman game, should be implemented and form the backbone for the game’s various connected biomes.

Premise

The story is not a 1:1 adaptation of the Warworld Saga comics, but is heavily inspired by its core ideas.

If you’re unfamiliar with the story arc, Superman travels to Warworld to free enslaved people from Mongul’s rule. He loses his powers, fights in gladiator pits, and becomes a symbol of rebellion.

The game follows this arc — stripping Superman of his powers, for just a little while, enough for him and the player to rediscover what makes him heroic without the sun, suit, or safety of home.

So, what would be the opening of the game?

Well, the game opens in Metropolis. A usual day at the ‘Planet. Clark clumsily stumbles to a meeting when he hears trouble in the distance. He races to the roof and takes off. A meteor storm shreds the sky, blackrock heralding a celestial threat. Superman fights to protect Earth in this fully playable opening packed with flight, superpowered atmospheric combat, and cinematic spectacle.

Rather than risk Earth’s safety, Superman chooses to follow the threat off-world, into deep space, only to be captured and thrown into Warworld, a brutal gladiator planet lead by Mongul.

Now depowered, alone, and imprisoned, Superman must fight to survive, liberate prisoners, and rebuild his legend from nothing.

This premise enables a classic hero’s arc — a taste of full power at the start, then stripped away, only to be reclaimed and turbocharged. The narrative and gameplay progression align perfectly. 

And when Superman and the player eventually soar again, it feels earned. 

Why not Metropolis?

So you might be asking, why not Metropolis? Urban superhero sandboxes are overdone. From Spider-Man to Kill the Justice League, Infamous to Prototype, we’ve seen a city like Metropolis under siege again and again. But in Superman: Warworld, we avoid that trap by design. 

Narratively, this makes sense, Superman wouldn’t turn Earth into a warzone — he’d lead the threat away.

Creatively, it gives us a fresh setting and higher stakes. And gameplay-wise? It allows a sandbox for Superman to use his powers unrestrained and to the fullest extent in wide-open open destructible spaces.

Gameplay

At its core, Superman Warworld will have a gameplay loop that respects both the power fantasy and the player's sense of growth. Warworld accomplishes this through a carefully structured progression system that mirrors Superman’s narrative arc. 

Enemies

On Warworld, players must fight to gain Superman’s strength back which is smothered by layers of suppression — Warworld’s orbit around a red sun weakens his cells, while enemies wield kryptonite-infused weapons that pierce even his skin, and the very soil of the planet pulses with veins of Blackrock, a rare mineral that disrupts his powers on a molecular level.

To survive, players must adapt — studying enemy types, learning which elemental threats they carry, and crafting armour and upgrades that counteract their effects. Every boss is a puzzle, and only through strategy can Superman reclaim his power.

I recognise this is all easier said than done. For the record, I am not a game developer, just a gamer and a Superman fan. I’d really like to do a deep dive on the game’s story beats and character progression, skill trees, builds, endgame content, a potential DLC or sequel, and even PvP. But this video is long enough. So if you do want to know more, please comment, like, and share this video.

For too long, Superman has been treated like a gaming impossibility — too powerful, too perfect, too boring. Too wrapped up in studio politics. But the truth is, it’s not Superman who needs to change. It’s the games that need to rise to meet his ideal. With the right story, the right structure, and the right heart, Superman could finally soar — and take gaming to new heights.

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