Rocksteady's Batman Sequel: Out Of The Asylum And Into The City

Warner Bros. has confirmed that the previously-announced follow-up to Rocksteady's critically-acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum will be titled Batman: Arkham City, and will launch for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC in fall 2011. Rocksteady's second outing with the caped crusader will take players out of the asylum and into a maximum-security city district within the Gotham setting that's now home to the franchise's antagonists. The company says that new classic characters and villains from the Batman universe, plus "enhanced gameplay features" will appear in the game. Batman: Arkham Asylum released in August 2009 and became something of a surprise hit, bucking the trend of weak games based on major action licenses. It was widely lauded for its gameplay renditions and creative yet faithful rendition of the comic book's world and characters. As of early 2010, it had sold 3 million units, driving Warner to purchase a majority stake in the developer in March. The sequel had been confirmed at the Spike Television Network's Video Game Awards in December 2009. At the time, Warner called Rocksteady's take on the Batman property "a franchise that is a key focus for Warner Bros." The game also earned numerous awards, including awards for Game Design from the Game Developers Choice Awards and from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, while Best Game was among many nods it received at the BAFTA awards earlier this year.