Two new Batman Arkham games coming this year
That obscure little website known as “Game Informer” has done it again. This time scoring the exclusive reveals of not one, but two new Batman Arkham games releasing later this year. Read on for the details. Well, as many details as Game Informer will divulge, anyway.
The announcement came earlier today on their official website, along with images for next month’s cover. The first, and most high profile reveal was Batman: Arkham Origins. And as you can probably tell by the title, it’s a prequel, and it tells the story of a younger, less refined Batman as he encounters some of Gotham’s biggest villains for the first time. The game is currently scheduled to be released this October 25th for Xbox 360, PS3, WiiU, and PC.
The second major reveal was for Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, the first handheld game in the Arkham franchise. Far from a port of the console game, Blackgate is a completely original title which picks up where the story of Origins leaves off. Designed as a 2.5-D blend of action and exploration, the game is being developed by Armature studios, and will released on the same day as Origins.
The most unexpected aspect of today’s announcement (at least to me) is that Origins is not being made by Rocksteady. The studio responsible for the first two Arkham titles is out, and a new in-house game studio, WB Games Montreal, will be developing the game instead. Perhaps to calm the nerves of concerned Batman fans, Game Informer put together a trailer which takes a look inside WB Games Montreal, and offers some glimpses into what Origins is all about.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d0geMX4nWA&w=560&h=315]
Anyone besides me have some flashbacks to the early days of 343 Industries while watching that? No? Just me? Figures. Anyway, it seems a little odd to me that such a high profile franchise would been handed over to a relatively untested studio. And I find it hard to believe that Rocksteady would be so callously dismissed by Warner Bros. My gut tells me that there’s more to this story. Perhaps the lack of a PS4 edition of Origins hints at what Rocksteady might (repeat MIGHT) be working on. I have no inside info, and am wrong most of the time.
Keep an eye on Game Informer’s Arkham hub. They’ll be doing their usual month long parade of exclusive reveals about the game.