Batman: Arkham City emerges from shadows, reveals release date

Batman: Arkham City will swoop onto video game consoles and PCs in Fall 2011, according to new details released today.

This sequel to the 2009 blockbuster Batman: Arkham Asylum once again pits the dark knight against the Joker. But instead of taking place on a shadowy island-prison, this new title brings players to "Arkham City," a "heavily fortified" district of Gotham City.

The newly announced name is not a total surprise. Publisher Warner Bros. registered a slew of website names in July. Among the 15 domains were ArkhamCity.com, BatmanArkhamCity.com, CityOfArkham.com, and CloseArkhamCity.com. (Here in the newsroom, we were rooting for the more evocative BatmanAshesOfGotham.com, but there's plenty of room for a trilogy, right?)

Beside what's listed above, everything else is speculation. Developer Rocksteady Studios, who went from nameless to famous with the success of Arkham Asylum, has kept tight-lipped about the project. But what do you expect; the game is still more than a year away.

Restless fans can pick out more details from the teaser trailer embedded below, and look for the September issue of Game Informer, which features a bruised Batman and leather-clad Catwoman.