Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment officially announced today that they will release two new additions to the Batman: Arkham franchise on October 25th of this year — Batman: Arkham Origins for home consoles, and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate for handheld systems.
Batman: Arkham Origins is being developed for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and PC by Warner Bros. Games Montreal (Rocksteady Studios is apparently not involved with development of the title, however, the game is being built using their custom Unreal engine). As the “Origins” subtitle suggests, the game is set in an “expanded Gotham City” several years before Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City. Arkham Origins features an original prequel story that centers around “a young and unrefined Batman as he faces a defining moment in his early career as a crime fighter”.
The specifics of the title’s plot have not been revealed, however, WB Games promises that players will be introduced to “many important characters” over the course of the story. The assassin Deathstroke is apparently one of these characters, as he appears on the back cover of Game Informer’s May issue (pictured below).
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate is being developed by Armature Studio (a company founded in 2008 by several ex-Retro Studios leads) for both the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita. The title is described as a “companion game” to Batman: Arkham Origins, that uses a “2.5-D Metroid-style” exploration system. Warner Bros. did not release much information about Blackgate in today’s announcement, however, they did note that the plot will “continue the storyline of the console version” and reveal “more details of the Dark Knight’s past”.
We will have more information on both Batman: Arkham Origins and Blackgate as we get closer to the games’ October 25, 2013 launch date. In the meantime, check out Game Informer’s coverage trailer embedded below and make sure to let us know your thoughts down in the comment section.
Full press release:
WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES
BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS
Arkhamverse Expands with Prequel Story
And New Addition of Handheld Games with
BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS BLACKGATE
Burbank, Calif. – April 9, 2013 – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced Batman: Arkham Origins™ and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate™, the next installments of the blockbuster Batman: Arkham videogame franchise.
Batman: Arkham Origins will be available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 system, the Wii U™ system, and Windows PC. Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate™ will be available for the Nintendo 3DS™ handheld system, and PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system. Both titles are scheduled to release worldwide Oct. 25, 2013.
Developed by WB Games Montréal, Batman: Arkham Origins features an expanded Gotham City and introduces an original prequel storyline set several years before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, the first two critically acclaimed games of the franchise. Taking place before the rise of Gotham City’s most dangerous criminals, the game showcases a young and unrefined Batman as he faces a defining moment in his early career as a crime fighter that sets his path to becoming the Dark Knight. As the story unfolds, players will meet many important characters for the first time and forge key relationships.
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate is a 2.5-D game developed by Armature Studio that brings the Batman Arkham experience for the first time to Nintendo and Sony handheld systems. A companion game to Batman: Arkham Origins, players can continue the storyline of the console version and discover more details of the Dark Knight’s past.
“Batman: Arkham is a huge triple-A videogame franchise and we are delighted to expand the experience with Batman: Arkham Origins,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “WB Games Montréal has an incredibly talented team building upon Rocksteady’s award-winning gameplay and technology to deliver a deep, immersive, quality experience fans will love.”
“WB Games Montréal is honored to have the opportunity to create Batman: Arkham Origins, a new chapter in this amazing franchise,” said Reid Schneider, Vice President and Executive Producer, WB Games Montréal. “We are huge fans of the franchise and are committed to creating an experience that offers players more of what they love, as well as the chance to play as a younger Batman within a fresh storyline and expanded world.”
Batman: Arkham Origins is based on DC Comics’ core Batman license. Fans can visit www.batmanarkhamorigins.com for more information about the game.
