Fans of Rocksteady’s award-winning games BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM and follow-up ARKHAM CITY are going to be in two minds as they absorb these newly released details. On the one hand it’s great that we’re getting a new entry in the series, and so soon at that (it’s due to hit this October), but the decision to swap developers can’t help but make us nervous. It’s also somewhat disconcerting that they’ve decided to go with an origin story. Aren’t we tired of origin stories? Wasn’t the strength of the ARKHAM games that they were able to build on a timeless canon and have fun with it? Dialing the story back to Bats’ first meeting with some of his greatest enemies doesn’t really sound that epic in comparison. Anyway, I have my fingers crossed that Warner Bros. Games Montreal will prove my reservations completely wrong and they deliver the best Batman game yet. Check out the video below to hear them talk about the challenges with the people behind the scoop, Game Informer, and then have a read of the Press Release from Warner Bros for more deets…

Press Release:

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 released October 25th on PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Wii U.

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