The Fictional Batman: Arkham Game That Took Reddit By Storm

Debuting in 2009, the "Batman: Arkham" series is one of the most influential superhero video games of all time. The series consists of four games — "Arkham Asylum," "Arkham City," "Arkham Origins," and "Arkham Knight" — almost all of which were warmly received due to their fluid combat systems and engaging stories. And though the series is (technically) set to continue with "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League" in 2023, a new game where players control the Caped Crusader isn't currently on the schedule. However, if you've been surfing Reddit over the past few days, you might've thought differently.

In early August, Redditor u/FrozeninIce248 made a post in the "Batman: Arkham" subreddit celebrating the one-year anniversary of a game called "Batman: Arkham World," a sprawling open-world title where Batman is no longer the Dark Knight for just Gotham City, but the entire world. Since its publishing, the Reddit post has completely blown up and has garnered thousands of upvotes and hundreds of enthusiastic comments of other Redditors talking about their experiences with the game. There's only one problem — "Batman: Arkham World" doesn't exist. It's just a meme, and it's begun taking Reddit by storm.

Since the original post about "Batman: Arkham World" surfaced, much of the community on the "Batman: Arkham" subreddit has consistently made posts talking about the features the game has and asking others' opinions on them. One comment on the original post poked fun at "Batman: Arkham Knight" by saying that its follow-up had "too much Stealth-Bat-Boat-Sequences," though they did enjoy other aspects. One post featured a Redditor saying they enjoyed the missions where players control Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth, despite them being apparently being unpopular with most "Batman: Arkham Knight" fans.

After nearly two weeks of this bizarre occurrence being an inside joke amongst the "Batman: Arkham" faithful, it seems the "Arkham World" phenomenon has spread beyond the tight-nit subreddit. On Twitter, user @GreatCheshire shared a collection of some of the best memes that had come as a result of the "Arkham World" joke, including the game having a beautiful title screen, Killer Moth killing the Imposter Joker, and the aforementioned Alfred missions. @Flower_Hermit compared the "Arkham World" meme to "Elden Ring" fans creating the legend of Glaive Master Hodir when they were unsure as to how close the game was finished or if it'd ever be released.