Batman: Arkham City will be released under Games For Windows Live

By Rick Marshall August 30, 2011

It’s no secret that Microsoft’s online gaming service Games For Windows Live has its share of critics — but apparently Batman isn’t one of them.

As confirmed by VG247, Batman: Arkham City will be released as a GFWL title, following in the footsteps of its wildly successful predecessor, Batman: Arkham Asylum. The news comes on the heels of varying reports regarding the online platform the game will use for its PC-based incarnations.

So, sorry Steamworks fans, but is the news really that surprising? After all, Bruce Wayne always struck us as a Microsoft sort of guy anyways.

Even if the news is a bit of a downer for some PC-gaming fans, there’s still a lot to be happy about regarding Rocksteady’s upcoming sequel to Arkham Asylum. For example, there’s that ridiculously cool Mr. Freeze trailer that premiered earlier this month. Go watch it again to cheer yourself up.

There’s also the the previously released Arkham City trailer featuring The Penguin, and those photos of the Batman: Arkham City Collector’s Edition package. (Those always work for me, at least.)

Batman: Arkham City hits shelves October 18 in the U.S. for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and of course, PC.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…

Gaming

Dishonored 3: release date window, rumors, and more

best xbox 360 games dishonored

The Dishonored series has always been a critical darling and it has cultivated a small, but passionate fanbase. The original game got some DLC, a sequel in Dishonored 2, and one last entry called Death of the Outsider in 2017, but since then the franchise has remained dormant. The studio's latest game, Deathloop, shares some DNA with Dishonored, but is certainly its own beast. However, since the success of that new IP far exceeded anything Dishonored had achieved, many fans felt we'd never return to Dunwall to see the conclusion of the story. Thanks to the recent leak of some court documents related to the Activision purchase by Xbox, which owns Dishonored publisher Bethesda, new hope has appeared for the existence of Dishonored 3.
Release window

According to the leaked documents, which we should still take with skepticism until an official public statement is made, Dishonored 3 is currently planned for a "FY24E" release. FY24E is shorthand for Fiscal Year 2024, which runs between April 2024 and March 2025. Again, things are likely to change, if they haven't already, but this is at least a good starting point to predict the earliest we might see it.
Platforms
Again, this is just speculation until the game is officially confirmed, but considering that Xbox owns publisher Bethesda, Dishonored 3 is almost certainly going to be an Xbox console exclusive with a PC port. It should also be available as a day one Game Pass title, as all Xbox first party titles are.
Trailers
As mentioned, Dishonored 3 isn't even meant to be known about publicly yet, so no marketing exists for the game. All we have is the name.
Gameplay

Gaming

Every summer 2023 gaming showcase: full schedule of live streams

Detective Pikachu and a Slowpoke wearing a cowboy hat.

Summer is one of the most exciting times to be a gamer, as it's when most video game developers and publishers tease what's coming next. For years, this was all centered around E3, but since that show went away during the COVID-19 pandemic, publishers have switched things up and held a variety of reveal-focused live-stream events throughout the entire season. This year has been no different, especially with E3 2023 is canceled.

On May 24, Sony kicked things off with a PlayStation Showcase that revealed games like a Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater remake and that Bungie is reviving the Marathon series. In June, though, the number of showcases ramped up. Now, things are winding down with new Tokyo Game Show-related events, as well as a second Nintendo Direct. It can be a lot to keep track of, but we're here to help. This is every important, announcement-filled video game live stream that has taken place throughout summer 2023.
PlayStation Showcase: May 24

Gaming

Final Xbox Live Gold games include a free hidden gem worth downloading

Blue Fire's main character runs on a wall.

Microsoft revealed the final two games that will be available for free as part of the Games with Gold program for Xbox Live Gold. The service isn't really going out with a bang, but one of the games is a solid Souls-inspired indie platformer that's worth a download as Games with Gold's swan song.

The two games Microsoft will give away are Level 91 Entertainment's Inertial Drift and Robi Studios' Blue Fire. Inertial Drift is a vibrant, neon-infused arcade racer with unique twin-stick controls that players have to master in order to steer and drift properly. Racing game fans should get a kick out of it, but the game to really care about in this final batch is Blue Fire.
Blue Fire is a 3D platformer, but it takes more inspiration from the likes of Dark Souls and Hollow Knight than Super Mario 64. While it's a pretty fast-paced platformer with a satisfying dash move at its core, it makes players platform through pretty dark and moody settings that interconnect like Dark Souls areas do. The game also sometimes places emphasis on combat, which is usually a bad sign in platformers, fights can actually sometimes be pretty tough and satisfying in Blue Fire.