While Rocksteady, the studio behind Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Arkham Knight, is busy working on an upcoming mystery video game, it would appear that Arkham Origins developer WB Games Montreal has plans of their own. Earlier this month, they Tweeted an image of one of their employees wearing the logo of the Court of Owls, revealing that they were partnering on a project with a redacted development team. This of course led to immediate speculation that a sequel to 2013's Origins is in the works.
For the uninitiated, the Court of Owls are a secret cabal in the DC Universe that founded Gotham City and controlled it from the shadows for centuries, serving as enemies to Batman ever since revealing themselves in the 2011 storyline Night of the Owls. They quickly became fan favourites, already leaving a strong mark on the Batman mythos compared to other contemporary Bat-foes.
Now, thanks to a couple of follow up teases, we know exactly when to expect this project (or a reveal, at the very least). In fact, it could be as early as
2019.
It's no surprise that they would be selected as the main antagonists in an
Arkham Origins continuation, given that the game itself included a few Easter Eggs directly hinting at the Court's influence:
[Skip to the 35:13 mark]
With Rocksteady having retired from the Batman franchise after
Arkham Knight, it makes sense for WB Montreal to pick up the reigns, even if there was a consensus that
Origins was subpar to the work that Rocksteady had previously done. The game largely reused the
Arkham City assets and mechanics, with a story focusing on Batman's first encounter with the Joker. It showed how the supervillains took over the criminal underworld as mob bosses faded out, which prompted the opening of Arkham Asylum. Its campanion game
Arkham Origins: Blackgate (released on the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Vita) elaborated on the
after credits scene, showing the origin of the Suicide Squad and setting up
Batman: Assault on Arkham.