On Why the Upcoming Batman: Arkham Knight Game Was given an 'M' Rating from the ESRB

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's Batman: Arkham Knight, the successor to 2013's Batman: Arkham Origins and the fourth main game in the Batman: Arkham video game series, is set for release on June 2. It has been rated 'M' for mature audience, making it the first to get a rating other than 'T' for teen by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

The Board in its rating summary explained: "This is an action-adventure game in which players primarily assume the role of Batman as he battles several villains spreading chaos across Gotham City. Players traverse a variety of locations around Gotham while battling thugs, examining crime scenes, and occasionally rescuing hostages. Players engage in melee-style combat using punches, kicks, and gadgets (e.g., batarangs, explosives). Enemies cry out in pain when struck, and some takedowns are highlighted by brief slow-motion effects and loud impact sounds. Some sequences allow players to use tank-like vehicles with machine gun turrets and rockets to shoot enemies; a vehicle's wheels are also used to torture an enemy in one sequence. Cutscenes depict characters getting shot (on and off camera) while restrained or unarmed. Large bloodstains/pools of blood appear in crime scenes and in the aftermath of violent acts; one room depicts a person torturing a character on a bloody operating table. During the course of the game, players can shoot unarmed characters and a hostage. Neon signs in a red-light district read "live nude girls" and "XXX." The words "b*tch," "gobsh*te," and "a*s" appear in the dialogue."

In terms of the characters Batman will be interacting with in the game, Batman: Arkham Knight will have the Caped Crusader battle it out with the super-villains Scarcrow, Penguin, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, and Riddler, plus a new villain dubbed the Arkham Knight who has been described as a militarized version of Batman. These super-villains have the sole goal of killing Batman who will continue to be assisted by his friend police commissioner James Gordon and his daughter Barbara in her covert persona as the hacker Oracle.