Yesterday, veteran Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy said he would be playing a role in the next Arkham game. Since we already knew that Roger Craig Smith would be voicing the Dark Knight in Arkham Origins, we naturally figured that Conroy would be playing another character, or perhaps an older version of Batman. As it turns out, the situation is a bit more complex.

Read more: 'I am in new Arkham game coming soon' »

Kevin Conroy, the voice actor known for his iconic pipes as Batman in the classic animated series and the previous Arkham games, says he just finished a long stint of work on the "next Arkham" game. While he doesn't specifically name Batman: Arkham Origins, he did mention that his 9-10 months of work has gone into a game that has recently been announced, allowing him to talk about it.

Read more: But not Batman? »

Batman: Arkham Origins takes place early into the career of the caped crusader. According to developer WB Montreal, Origins will show off a "rawer, scarier Batman." So, of course they got the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog to play Batman this time around. (We're not kidding.)

Read more: The surprising voice actor behind the new Joker »

Fans feel rightfully cautious whenever a beloved franchise switches developers. Batman Arkham Origins is the first game in the Arkham series developed outside of series progenitor Rocksteady. The newly established WB Montreal assumes development duties on this prequel. Fans are undoubtedly going to question if an untested, unproven team can make a Batman game worthy of the Arkham label. Based on an early hands-on with the game, it appears Montreal doesn't plan on changing the formula too much. Instead, Origins largely follows the blueprint established by Arkham City.

Read more: 'Feels like an expansion pack' »

The Arkham series loves making its villains playable as DLC. In Arkham Asylum, you could play as the Joker in free PS3-exclusive DLC. In Arkham City, you could play as Catwoman in a story integrated into the main campaign--provided you bought a copy of the game new. And in Arkham Origins, you'll be able to play as Deathstroke, provided you pre-order the game from Amazon.

Read more: But will it be exclusive? »

It's near Christmas, it's snowing, but all is not well in the city of Arkham, as a young Batman will be fending off assassins that want to end his storied career before it even gets started. A new teaser for Batman: Arkham Origins shows the Dark Knight battling perhaps the toughest killer in the group, Deathstroke.

Watch: About 12 seconds of action »

Batman: Arkham Origins is starring a younger Dark Knight, in a younger Gotham City. That change impacts everything, and art director Jeremy Price has talked a bit about how the new setting and younger Bat will be reflected in the game's visual style.

Read more: 'Low-key lighting, like a film noir' »

We've heard a lot about what Batman: Arkham Origins will have: Deathstroke, Black Mask, and a stronger emphasis on teaching the player. But what about what it won't have? WB Montreal detailed a few of its original ideas that didn't make the cut.

Read more: Snowstorms and predator drones »

Kevin Conroy has been the voice of Batman throughout a lot of iterations, but WB Montreal may be using a different actor to play the Dark Knight in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins. A report from a South African magazine claims that Conroy is out for this installment, since the game features a younger Bruce Wayne.

Read more: Gordon and Alfred returning »

Batman: Arkham Origins exists in its own universe, the "Arkhamverse" as comic book fans been known to call it. Through Origins, WB Montreal is aiming to make their prequel form the foundations of that universe. Batman has had plenty of origin stories that trace back his crime-fighting roots, so DC Comics' chief creative officer, Geoff Johns, explained the themes of this particular prequel and how it differs from some others.

Read more: 'Arkham evokes a sense of insanity and chaos' »

A lot of people still don't really get how FreeFlow works in the Batman: Arkham series. Given its focus on counters, button mashing doesn't get great results. You may be able to get by, but you certainly won't be able to achieve the same combo counts as some of the masters of the game.

"The challenge rooms really taught me a lot," creative director Eric Holmes said. "They teach you more than anything is 'you don't know how to play the game when you're playing the campaign.'"

Read more: Difficulty not changed because Arkham is 'mainstream' »

Batman: Arkham Origins is rolling back to an earlier time in Batman's history, making for a tricky minefield of storytelling. We already know where these characters will end up, which runs the risk of making the plot lack stakes. But WB Montreal has explained more about how it will make this piece of the story stand out, notably by playing with its earlier iterations of characters.

Read more: Crushing Batman and rethinking Alfred »

Batman: Arkham Origins is said to star Black Mask as its primary antagonist, taking a break from the usual Joker threat. But Warner Bros knows that some fans don't know much about this villain, and are picking and choosing pieces of his comic history to tell the story of Batman's early, less experienced years.

Read more: 'The sadistic nature of Black Mask' »

Following the reveal of Batman: Arkham Origins and its handheld tie-in Blackgate, more details are coming to light about the pair of games. The prequels are letting WB Montreal reintroduce some characters, but the primary antagonist is completely new.

Read more: Black Mask takes center stage »

Warner Bros officially announced Batman: Arkam Origins today. The earliest rumors claimed this would be a prequel set in the Silver Age, detailing Batman's first encounters with his rogue's gallery, particularly the Joker. With today's announcement, that seems half-true.

Read more: History of the Silver Age »