Batman: Arkham
Batman: Arkham is a superhero action-adventure video game series based on the DC Comics character Batman, developed by Rocksteady Studios[1][2] and WB Games Montréal, and published originally by Eidos Interactive and currently by Warner Bros. Games. The franchise consists of four main installments and a spin-off, along with four smaller titles for mobile devices, 2 virtual reality games, tie-in comic books, and an animated film. The continuity established by the games is often referred to as the Arkhamverse.
Batman: Arkham
- Eidos Interactive (2009)
- Warner Bros. Games (2009–present)
Batman: Arkham Asylum
August 25, 2009
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
February 2, 2024
The main games in the Batman: Arkham series have been met with commercial success and critical acclaim, with praise for their narratives, voice acting, characters, world design, graphics, and gameplay. The games have collectively sold more than 31 million copies worldwide.
Other media[edit]
Music[edit]
The first two games were composed by Nick Arundel and Ron Fish. Origins was composed by Christopher Drake, with Arkham Knight being composed by Arundel and David Buckley. Several soundtrack albums have been released.
Merchandise[edit]
Starting in January 2011, DC Direct released two series of statues based on characters in Arkham Asylum.[60][61] As well, DC Direct, and later DC Collectibles, released four series of statues based on characters in Arkham City, starting in December 2011.[62][63][64][65] On June 5, 2012, TriForce announced that they had acquired the license to create replicas of various weapons, gadgets and iconic objects from Arkham Asylum and Arkham City.[66] DC Collectibles announced statues for release in October 2013 for Arkham Origins,[67] as well as Mattel announcing statues of their own, releasing in late 2013.[68] A board game, titled Batman: Arkham City Escape, was made available by Cryptozoic entertainment in May 2013.[69]
Appearances in outside media[edit]
The game Injustice: Gods Among Us featured the Arkham City Skin Pack, containing downloadable costumes for Batman, Catwoman, and the Joker, based on their appearances in Arkham City.[70] An Arkham City skin is also available for Harley Quinn; however, unlike the other Arkham City skins, it must be unlocked through the iOS mobile app version.[71] In addition, the Arkham Asylum arena features appearances by Hugo Strange, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Two-Face, Riddler, and Penguin, all of whom appear as they did in the previous Arkham games. The iOS version of the game features the Arkham Origins skins for Batman, Deathstroke, Deadshot, Joker, and Bane, as well the Arkham Knight skins for Batman, Catwoman, Batgirl, Harley Quinn, and the exclusive character Arkham Knight. The Arkham Knight costume for Batman also appears in the iOS version of Injustice 2.
The character Arkham Knight eventually made his debut in the mainstream DC Universe. However, this incarnation is not Jason Todd, but rather Astrid Arkham, the daughter of Arkham Asylum director Jeremiah Arkham and Ingrid Karlsson. During her birth, a riot broke out during a prison transfer at the asylum. Despite the chaos, several villains assisted in delivering her safely, but one of the prisoners killed Ingrid with one of Batman's batarangs. Astrid grew up interacting with many of Arkham Asylum's patients and sympathized with their fear of Batman. After she found footage of her mother's death, she assumed Batman murdered her and trained herself for years to take away Batman's control over Gotham. She crafted the Arkham Knight identity to take vengeance on him, believing that the Arkham inmates were also his victims.