Exact Answer: 18 months
Both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City are action-adventure video games that revolve around the Batman universe, which was first introduced by DC Comics. Apart from the mentioned two, there are many games in the Batman: Arkham series, which follow a particular timeline of events.
The Batman: Arkham series of games include Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, Arkham Origins Blackgate, Arkham Knight, Assault on Arkham, and Arkham Origins.
The Batman: Arkham video game series was released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and created by Rocksteady Studios and WB Games Montréal. Some of the platforms on which you can play the aforementioned Batman: Arkham video games are Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and more.
How Long After Arkham Asylum Is Arkham City?
| S. No. | Chronological order of events | Order of release |
| 1 | Arkham Origins | Arkham Asylum |
| 2 | Arkham Origins Blackgate | Arkham City |
| 3 | Assault on Arkham | Arkham Origins |
| 4 | Arkham Asylum | Arkham Origins Blackgate |
| 5 | Arkham City | Assault on Arkham |
| 6 | Arkham Knight | Arkham Knight |
With respect to the order of release, Arkham Asylum was released first in 2009. Next was Arkham City in 2011. Next were Arkham Origins and Arkham Origins Blackgate in 2013. Next was Assault on Arkham in 2014. Released last was Arkham Knight in 2015.
Despite the order of release, the events within the games followed a specific order. The chronological order of the games is Batman: Arkham Origins, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, then Batman: Assault On Arkham, then Batman: Arkham Asylum, then Batman: Arkham City, and lastly, Batman: Arkham Knight.
The events that occur in the Batman: Arkham City video game happen approximately 18 months after the events that occur in the Batman: Arkham Asylum video game.
The games are set in Arkham, a completely gated-off district within Gotham city. It is most popularly known as a huge prison city. Although Arkham is well within the limits of Gotham city, it is essentially sealed off from Gotham, making it an area of its own. Arkham, unlike Gotham, is a high-security prison, which was intended to hold all the criminals in one space.
Batman: Arkham Asylum revolves around the superhero, Batman, who fights against Joker, his archenemy. The Joker plans to carry out his plot to take over Arkham Asylum. In addition, the Joker plans to trap Batman and the occupants of the asylum inside, while simultaneously planting hidden bombs across Gotham city, to harass and threaten the citizens.
Batman: Arkham City follows the story of Batman, who is now imprisoned in Arkham City. In this game, he must defeat all odds to investigate and reveal a well-guarded secret regarding a scheme, harbored by Hugo Strange, the genius psychiatrist who controls the super-prison that is Arkham City. Meanwhile, Batman also has to put an end to the chaos caused by his fellow inmates.
Why Does Arkham City Take That Long To Take Place After Arkham Asylum?
In Batman: Arkham Asylum, Joker is transported to the asylum after being caught by Batman for assaulting Gotham City Hall. With the help of Harley Quinn, the Joker escaped into the asylum and threatens the citizens of Gotham City, that he would detonate the hidden bombs in the city if anyone dares to enter Arkham. Batman then learns that the Joker purposefully entered the facility to gain access to Penelope Young’s Venom drug, which he wants to use to build a large army of superhuman minions. Despite Batman destroying the drug’s formula, Joker gets a hold of the finished drug from his production facility in Arkham. After traveling to obtain the ingredients for an antidote for the drug, Batman and Joker are injected with the Titan formula, but Batman uses the antidote and defeats Joker in the process. The ending of this game hints at the next game, Batman: Arkham City, by introducing the warlord, Two-Face, and his crime, as Batman travels to defeat him.
In Batman: Arkham City, we are shown that the newly appointed mayor of Gotham City, Quincy Sharp, is hauling off people with even the smallest trace of a criminal record to Arkham City prison. This includes Batman, who held a public rally against Sharp’s proposal to turn a portion of the city into an isolated prison for potential criminals. After he is shipped off to Arkham City, he must reveal and prevent Hugo Strange’s secret plan to destroy the whole of Arkham city, killing the criminals. After encountering many hurdles on his way, Batman travels to the Wonder Tower to disable the destruction of Arkham City, and save everyone. In the end, Joker dies because Titan’s formula has mutated inside his blood.
Hence, the aforementioned events are the reasons why Arkham Asylum takes place 18 months before Arkham City.
Conclusion
To conclude, Batman: Arkham City occurs approximately 18 months after Batman: Arkham Asylum. During this timeline, Batman goes from fighting the Joker and his foes to prevent him from taking over the Arkham Asylum in Batman: Arkham Asylum, to being imprisoned in Arkham City and preventing Hugo Strange from carrying out his secret masterplan, in Batman: Arkham City.
According to many forums, the Arkham games are suitable for people aged 13 years or above. But some of the games contain realistic violence and real-time interactivity with other players, so some of the content can only be suitable for people aged 16 years or beyond.
If you are an avid DC universe fan or a Batman fan, it is advised that you play the games in their chronological order, as opposed to their order of release, in order to enjoy the complete experience.