Which game was released first in the Arkham series?

Batman: Arkham Asylum was the first game released in the Arkham series.

Rocksteady Studios’ game launched in 2009, introducing the series’ distinctive blend of free-flow combat, stealth, detective work, exploration, and gadget-based puzzle solving. Its story confines Batman to Arkham Island, where the Joker has triggered a massive prison takeover and released many of the asylum’s inmates.

Batman: Arkham City followed in 2011 and expanded the formula into a large section of Gotham converted into a maximum-security prison. Batman: Arkham Knight arrived in 2015 as the main trilogy’s finale. Batman: Arkham Origins was released in 2013, but its story is a prequel set earlier in Batman’s career, so its narrative position differs from its release position.

This distinction causes the most common mix-up. Players discussing story chronology may place Origins first, but the first game released—and the starting point for the franchise’s gameplay and continuity—is Arkham Asylum. Its success established the series as one of the most influential superhero video-game franchises.