Game Informer is reporting that a new installment of the Batman: Arkham game series will be coming in 2013. Warner Bros. Games Montreal making this one as opposed to Rocksteady Studios who made the previous two Arkham games, but Warner Bros. has full access to Rocksteady's custom modified Unreal engine to capture the look and feel of the Arkhamverse.
Eric Holmes will be the creative director heading up this project. He has worked on such games as The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction and Prototype. He also wrote the IDW Transformers Origins comic for Megatron.
The game title suggests that the story for this game will take place before the previous two Arkham games and the latest Game Informer reveals that DC Universe badass Deathstroke The Terminator will be making an appearance in this one.
The game is set to be released October 25, 2013 on Wii U, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.
UPDATE: Here is the official press release about the game as well as a version for hand-held devices called Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate:
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced Batman: Arkham Origins™ and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate™, the next instalments 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 25th October, 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 honoured 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.”
