GameInformer today pulled the curtain back and revealed the first bits of news we are hearing about the next title(s) in the beloved Batman: Arkham _____ series: Batman: Arkham Origins for home consoles and PC and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate for the 3DS and PSVita.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6d0geMX4nWA&w=760]

The console title is set before the events of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City when Batman is not as experienced a crime fighter as he is to become. This isn’t an origin story, per se, but it is set early in Batman’s career. It seems like the “everything happens in one night” motif will come back, as Batman is faced with capturing several assassins and villains in Gotham City who are attempting to kill him on Christmas Eve. Like every third game in a series this generation, there will be ample snow in the environment, so get ready for that.

You might have noticed if you watched the video that any mention of “Rocksteady” is absent, and that is because that studio is not developing the title. Instead, Warner Bros. Games Montreal has taken the helm. We will just have to see how they do because they have huge shoes to fill.

Just as exciting as the news of a new console Batman, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate will be coming to handhelds on the same day. Unlike its big brother, this title will be a 2.5-D sidescroller a la Super Metroid. Fitting, since the previous two Arkham titles have basically been 3D Metroid games with Batman. The developers for this handheld title are Armature Studio, which is made up of a group of folks who left Metroid Prime creators Retro Studios. INTERESTING. Also, if we want to speculate on the name, “Blackgate” is a prison in the Batman universe, so we can safely assume that there is a connection there. In Arkham Asylum, Blackgate Prison had recently caught fire, causing the asylum to house many regular prisoners when normally they would not be there. The Joker had his hand in all of that because that’s what he does.

So there you have it. The Bats returns on October 25th.