Warner Bros spends big on Batman: Arkham Origins

Forget PS4 and Xbox One, one of the biggest marketing campaigns of Christmas will be for a current-gen game.

Warner Bros has revealed a huge advertising push behind its new Batman title – Arkham Origins.

It includes a blockbuster TV campaign, events, drinks promotions with Kick, plus heavyweight online, digital and out-of-home activity.

Arkham Origins is the third in the hit Batman series that has become a shining example of how to do good licensed titles. The first game Arkham Asylum has a Metacritic of 92, while 2011’s Arkham City has a score of 94.

Those games were created by UK studio Rocksteady, while Origins is a prequel that is being created by the firm’s newly-created developer Warner Bros Montreal.

But that doesn’t mean its publisher views the game any differently. And it has booked a three-week TV campaign with ads around Premier League and Champions League football, Homeland, The Walking Dead, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Fresh Meat.

The firm has also teamed up with Kick energy drinks, with ads on 1.5m impressions, while a video-on-demand campaign will deliver ten million 30 and 60-second pre-rolls around specific game, action, sport and comedy videos.

The firm is also planning midnight launches with UK supermarkets alongside a variety of other retail focused events.