Batman: Arkham Origins to Feature a Multiplayer Component

You can’t sell games if they don’t have multiplayer, right? At least, that seems to be the prevailing development philosophy of our current generation. Products that appear to be perfect examples of solitary, single-player experiences have included what many see as “tacked-on” multiplayer for years now, and it looks as if we’ll be witnessing a similar case later this year with the recently announced Batman: Arkham Origins.

The third game in the Arkham series, Origins will take a look at (you guessed it) the beginnings of Batman. However, that doesn’t mean that this popular series will be taking a step back in terms of features. Instead, sources close to Kotaku have reported that the open-world experience will include some form of multiplayer component never before seen in the franchise. There are no hard details on what this side of the game will play like, but the tipster seems to know a thing or two about the project. The sleuth knew of both Arkham Origins’ existence, title, and snowy look in early March, well before it was revealed by Game Informer. Kotaku lacked the solid evidence to publish the story, but a second source has confirmed  that the game will have multiplayer.

The unconfirmed portion of the report details a segment of the multiplayer where players control a member of Joker or Bane's gang while trying to eliminate Batman and Robin. Multiple villains may be featured, including Killer Croc, Deadshot, Firefly, Black Mask, Deathstroke, and, according to the source, "some kind of Electroman character.” Once again, none of this can be confirmed.

For now, the campaign is really all we know will be present when Batman: Arkham Origins releases on PlayStation 3, PC, Xbox 360, and Wii U Oct. 25.