The surprise hit of 2009, Batman: Arkham Asylum provided gamers with the first really great Batman gaming experience. Thanks largely to its success, Eidos revealed plans for the franchise to get a new installment every year, a fact punctuated by the announcement of Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 at the 2009 Spike VGAs. While it may have only been assumed that Eidos would be able to get a new title on shelves in 2010, it looks like we're going to have to wait a little longer to don the cowl once again. Our industry source has revealed that Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 won't be hitting shelves this year, and is likely not to arrive until early to mid-2011.

On one hand, I'm kind of glad the game's not coming out this year. I'd really like the game to be more than a rehash of what we already played, and I think that in order for that to happen, it's going to need more than a one year development cycle. On the other hand, I really loved Arkham Asylum, and want to play more games that take place in that universe. For now, I guess I'll just have to replay the first one again, but that's not such a bad thing. At least for now, it appears that Eidos is conscious of not wanting to just release a game for the sake of releasing it, and wants to be sure to release a quality product.

We've contacted Eidos for confirmation, and will update as soon as we hear back from them on this story.