Batman: Arkham City
Batman investigates a sinister scheme in a sprawling super-prison.
Batman: Arkham City is a 2011 action-adventure game from Rocksteady Studios, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It follows the 2009 title Batman: Arkham Asylum as the second chapter in the Batman: Arkham series, drawing from DC Comics lore. The story was penned by longtime Batman writer Paul Dini, alongside Paul Crocker and Sefton Hill. Bruce Wayne gets locked up in Arkham City—a massive prison built inside Gotham’s rundown slums—then suits up as Batman to expose a hidden plot by the facility’s warden, Hugo Strange. The game uses a third-person camera, emphasizing Batman’s combat skills, stealth tactics, detective work, and a range of gadgets for fighting and exploration. Players can roam freely across Arkham City, take on missions, and unlock new areas by advancing the main plot or acquiring fresh equipment. Side missions offer extra content and collectibles. Catwoman appears as a second playable character, with her own story running parallel to Batman’s.
Rocksteady started brainstorming a sequel while still working on Arkham Asylum, and serious story development began in February 2009. Arkham City’s virtual map is five times larger than its predecessor, and its layout was tailored for Batman’s gliding and swooping moves. The marketing campaign cost over $10 million and spanned more than a year. Two music albums accompanied the release: one with the game’s score, another with 11 original songs by various mainstream artists. The game launched worldwide on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in October 2011, with a Windows version following a month later. Critics praised its story, characters, world design, soundtrack, and Batman’s combat and movement. It tied with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim as the highest-rated game of 2011 on Metacritic, and won multiple awards, including Game of the Year, Best Action Game, Best Action Adventure Game, Best Adventure Game, and Best Original Score. Like its predecessor, it’s often called one of the greatest video games ever made.
A mobile spin-off, Batman: Arkham City Lockdown, arrived in December 2011. A Game of the Year Edition came out in May 2012. Versions for Wii U and OS X followed in November and December 2012, with a remaster for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in October 2016. A Nintendo Switch port landed in 2023.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Batman: Arkham City
- Developer
- Rocksteady StudiosPorted to Wii U by WB Games Montréal, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One by Virtuos and Nintendo Switch by Turn Me Up Games
- Publisher
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
- Director
- Sefton Hill
- Producer
- Daniel Bailie · Nathan Burlow
- Programmer
- Ben Wyatt
- Artist
- David Hego
- Writer
- Paul Dini · Paul Crocker · Sefton Hill
- Composer
- Nick Arundel · Ron Fish
- Series
- Batman: Arkham
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 3Unreal Engine 4 was used for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One version.
- Platforms
- PlayStation 3 · Xbox 360 · Windows · Wii U · OS X · PlayStation 4 · Xbox One · Nintendo Switch
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Rocksteady conceived ideas for a sequel while developing Arkham Asylum, commencing serious development of Arkham City's story in February 2009. The layout of Arkham City has a virtual footprint five times that of Arkham Asylum, and the city design was modified to accommodate Batman's ability to swoop and glide. Over a year and $10 million were spent on the game's marketing campaign, and its release was accompanied by two music albums: one containing the game's score, and the other featuring 11 original songs inspired by the game from various mainstream artists. The game was released worldwide for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in October 2011, followed by a Microsoft Windows version a month later. A spin-off mobile game, Batman: Arkham City Lockdown, was released in December 2011. Arkham City received a 'Game of the Year Edition' in May 2012. Wii U and OS X versions were released in November and December 2012, respectively; a remastered version for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One was released in October 2016; and a version for the Nintendo Switch was released in 2023. A prequel to the series, Batman: Arkham Origins, was released in October 2013, and a narrative sequel, Batman: Arkham Knight, was released in June 2015.
Reader's Guide
Batman: Arkham City is an open world action-adventure game that incorporates tactics from stealth games. The player controls Batman from a third-person perspective, freely moving around the Arkham City prison, interacting with characters, undertaking missions, and unlocking new areas by progressing through the main story or obtaining new equipment. The game uses an improved version of the 'Freeflow' combat system from Arkham Asylum, allowing the player to counter multiple blows simultaneously, catch hurled projectiles, attack aerially, and administer consecutive strikes. Many of Batman's gadgets can now be used in combat. Enemies are armed with varying levels of armor and weapons, and disputes between gangs allied to rival villains often spark turf wars. The player can complete side missions away from the main story to unlock additional content and collectible items. Catwoman is another playable character, featuring her own story campaign that runs parallel to the game's main plot. The game has approximately 40 hours of gameplay, with the main campaign lasting 25 hours and side missions lasting 15 hours. Side missions feature prominent characters from the Batman universe, including the Riddler, who provides 440 optional 'Riddler challenges' to solve. After completing the story mode on 'normal' or 'hard' difficulties, a 'New Game Plus' mode is unlocked. Arkham City also features a series of challenge maps separate from the story mode, focusing on combat, stealth, or traversal goals, with performance ranked online against other players.
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