How to Play the Batman Games in Order

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A detailed look at the different ways to play the Arkham series

Co-authored by Eric McClure

Last Updated: October 22, 2025 Fact Checked

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Ways to Play the Arkham Games

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Release Order vs. Chronological Order

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Optional Games

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The Arkham games are widely cited as some of the best superhero games ever made. Actually, they may even be considered some of the best superhero stories ever told! But with so many sequels, prequels, and DLCs, it can be confusing trying to figure out which order you should play all of the games. Here, we’ll break down your two primary options: release order and chronological order. We’ll cover the pros and cons of both, and even break down when to play the smaller, lesser-known Arkham games.

What’s the Best Way to Play the Arkham Games?

The release date order is generally considered the optimal way to play the Arkham video games since it’s the way the games were intended to be played. However, if you’re interested in experiencing the narrative story from beginning to end, the chronological order is ideal.

Section 1 of 3:

Ways to Play the Arkham Games

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Option #1: Release Date The release date order involves playing all of the Arkham games in the order that they were released, starting with the oldest game and finishing with the newest game.^{[1]
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Research source} The order is:
- Without DLC:
  - Arkham Asylum (2009)
  - Arkham City (2011)
  - Arkham Origins (2013)
  - Arkham Knight (2015)
- With DLC:
  - Arkham Asylum (2009)
  - Arkham City & Catwoman Episodes (2011)
  - Harley Quinn’s Revenge (2012)
  - Arkham Origins (2013)
  - Initiation (2013)
  - Blackgate (2013)
  - Cold, Cold Heart (2014)
  - Arkham Knight (2015)
  - Arkham Knight DLCs (Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Red Hood, Catwoman, GCPD Lockdown) (2015-2016)
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Option #2: Chronological Order The chronological order involves playing all of the games in their narrative order, starting with the first game in the overarching story of the series, and ending with the game’s narrative ending. It’s not recommended unless you’re a Batman junkie who only wants to play the video games for the stories. It’s not that this order is wrong per se, but it will feel a little clunky gameplay-wise. There are also some weird spoilers, but we won’t get into that here.^{[2]
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Research source} The chronological order is:
- Without DLC:
  - Arkham Origins (2013)
  - Arkham Asylum (2009)
  - Arkham City (2011)
  - Arkham Knight (2015)
- With DLC (there is some debate here, since some narrative elements are ambiguous):
  - Initiation (2013)
  - Arkham Origins (2009)
  - Blackgate (2013)
  - Cold, Cold Heart (2014)
  - Batgirl (2015)
  - Arkham Asylum (2009)
  - Arkham City & Catwoman Episodes (2011)
  - Harley Quinn’s Revenge (2012)
  - Arkham Knight’s Harley Quinn DLC (2015)
  - Arkham Knight (2015)
  - Remaining Arkham Knight DLCs (Harley Quinn, Red Hood, Catwoman, GCPD Lockdown) (2015-2016)

Section 2 of 3:

Which order is the best?

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The release order is best in terms of gameplay quality. This is the recommended way to play according to most Arkham players since the gameplay and quality of life improvements of each game build on one another. It can be kind of difficult for players to jump back and forth between games with different difficulty curves, controls, and UI elements. By playing the games in order, the complexity and gameplay of each game will build gradually, and you’ll find it much smoother to play all of them in the release date order.^{[3]
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- There are a lot of quality-of-life improvements in the newer games that were missing from City and Asylum. A lot of players will find it annoying to lose out on features they’re used to having when they go from a newer game to an older game.
- Playing Origins before Asylum will also negatively impact some reveals in both games.
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The chronological order is only best if you’re a story purist. If you’re really dedicated to experiencing the Arkham stories with the narrative arranged chronologically. You’ll get to experience the entire Arkham story from the beginning to the end. This will start with Batman’s opening case in Origins (or Batman’s training if you’re playing the Initiation DLC), and end with the events of Knight.^{[4]
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- This is really not the “intended” way to play, but if you’ve already played the games in release order or you aren’t super into video games in the first place (which is totally fine!), that may not matter to you.

Section 3 of 3:

Optional Additions (& When to Play Them)

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Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League (2024) Perhaps the worst-reviewed game on our list, it’s also the most skippable given the lack of Batman’s presence, but we think it’s still worth playing if you’re a completionist. The game takes place five years after the end of Arkham Knight and follows the villainous members of the Suicide Squad as they try to save the world.^{[5]
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- For the release order: Last, after Knight (with DLCs, after the Knight stories). If you’re playing all the optional games, play it before Arkham Shadow.
- For the chronological order: Last, after Knight (with DLCs, after the Knight stories). If you’re playing all optional games, play it after Batman: Arkham Shadow.
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Batman: Arkham Shadow (2024) The second virtual reality game set in the Arkham universe, Shadow is an Oculus-only Batman beat-em-up set three months after the events of the Blackgate DLC.
- For the release order: Last, after Knight (with DLCs, after the Knight stories). If you’re playing all optional games, play this last.
- For the chronological order: After the Blackgate DLC. If you’re not playing the DLCs, play Shadow after
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Batman: Arkham VR (2016) The first VR game released in the series, Arkham VR drops all of the combat and focuses on what it’s like to solve complex cases as the world’s greatest detective. As Batman, you look for clues, use gadgets, and scan data to try and solve crime. It’s not the most beloved game of all time, so don’t sweat it if you don’t go back to play this one. It only takes an hour and a half to complete anyway.
- For the release order: After Knight, regardless of whether you’re playing DLCs or optional games.
- For the chronological order: After City (if you’re playing the optional games and DLCs, you’d play it after all the City DLCs).
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Batman: Arkham City Lockdown (2011) Lockdown is a 2011 fighting game for iOS and Android. It’s a beat-em-up fighting game with simple controls and a story that ties it into Arkham City.
- For the release order: Immediately after City. If you’re playing optional games, play it after all the City DLCs.
- For the chronological order: Immediately after City or Arkham VR.
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Batman: Arkham Underworld (2016) It’s a mobile strategy game for iOS and Android, and it has almost nothing in common with any of the other Arkham games, but it is technically an Arkham title, so we have to include it. It has also been removed from app stores, so you need an emulator to play it anyway.
- For the release order: After Knight (or Arkham VR).
- For the chronological order: We’re not sure, actually. The plot of this game has you becoming a villain in Gotham, but it’s not really connected to any main Arkham story beats. We’re going to assume, based on all evidence, that it takes place after City.
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Batman: The Telltale Series (2016) Okay, The Telltale Series is not an Arkham game. We just wanted to include this one because it went really under the radar, and a lot of Arkham fans aren’t familiar with it. But, if you’re the kind of person who even thinks about whether it’s best to play a series of games in chronological or release order, you’re precisely the kind of person who will enjoy the Telltale games. This 2016 game is a narrative-heavy episodic game where the choices you make dramatically alter the story. It’s a very unique and deeply rewarding game to play.
- For the release order: The most appropriate slot for it would be after Origins. If you’re playing all of the games, play it after Arkham VR or Underworld.
- For the chronological order: Pick this one up after Asylum. You learn some interesting stuff about Bruce Wayne’s relationship to the Arkham family.