The unstoppable success of cinema release The Dark Knight has proved a very handy promotional boost for the upcoming release of LEGO Batman, Warner Bros has told MCV – as the developer of the game heralds it ‘the best LEGO game ever’.

Despite the secret existence of a Dark Knight game at EA (MCVUK.com Newsflash 08/08), there has been no official announcement of a cinema tie-in – and with Warner looks set to benefit.

Warner Bros. EMEA marketing director Hester Woodliffe told MCV: “We’re not directly marketing and associating LEGO Batman with the release of The Dark Knight – they’re in different release windows and, despite some overlap, have different target audiences as well.

“However, the fact that The Dark Knight has performed so brilliantly at the cinema obviously bodes well. The amount of interest around both the film and Heath Ledger’s amazing performance has really put Batman back in the minds of the public. As we’re saying at Warner, 2008 is fast becoming the year of the bat.”

TT Games’ VP of publishing Jonathan Smith added: “It’s the best LEGO game we’ve ever made. We’ve really brought all the characters to life, and the split hero/villain mechanic tells the story in a whole new way. It all adds up to a very special package.”

LEGO Batman is due for release on DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii and 360 in October.