We’d known a new Batman game was on the way, but we didn’t know too much. We had a list of potential titles, but no confirmations on what the future of the franchise was. Would it follow-up “Arkham City” and the various premonitions of disaster contained within? Would it dial it back to the early days of Batman and the Joker?
Today, revealed at Game Informer, we now know the name and related information. The next installment of the successful franchise, Batman: Arkham Origins dials it back to the early days of Batman’s history as eight assassins led by the infamous Deathstroke arrive in Gotham City on Christmas Eve in order to kill the Bat Man. The game puts the player back into Batman’s shoes, but this time you’ll be exploring Gotham City, an even bigger arena than the last game’s sprawling city-sized asylum.
The main difference between this game and the previous two, however, is that the game will be produced by Warner Bros. Games in Montreal and not Rocksteady Studios, the developer of the past two. Paul Dini is also not involved, with Eric Holmes acting as creative director (who worked on the successful Prototype games). And, according to the Game Informer coverage video (below), they’re taking the previous two installments fully into consideration with the design, feel and gameplay of the upcoming sequel/prequel, so fans of the series shouldn’t fret too much.
You may also remember that the last time Warner said anything about the game, they noted it would feature the Justice League and revolve around Batman’s relationship with the Joker, a main thread in the previous two installments. How that will factor into this new game is unknown, but given the goldmine Warner knows they’re sitting on top of, one would assume the Joker will pop his head in a little bit, Mark Hammil’s involvement not-withstanding.
There will also be an additional game for portable consoles entitled Arkham Origins Blackgate, developed by Amature Studios that acts as a sequel to Origins, albeit in a Metroid style game instead.
Watch the Game Informer release video for the game below.
