In the early days, licensed games had a reputation of being simple cash-grabs, allowing developers to quickly create a title based off of recognizable intellectual properties rather than focus on compelling gameplay mechanics. All that changed once Rocksteady Studios released Batman: Arkham Asylum, however, which has gone on to become a success with fans and critics alike. With a new entry in the series, Batman: Arkham Knight, set to release a little later than previously expected, Rocksteady looks to continue that high quality trend.

Continuing the direction started in Batman: Arkham City and its Catwoman pre-order content, a playable Harley Quinn has been revealed as a pre-order bonus with her own story and content. New information on this DLC content has recently surfaced revealing that it may be more than just a few challenge maps.

While the Harley Quinn pre-order bonus content has been known for a while, a new updated page for Batman: Arkham Knight on Amazon reveals that the content actually serves as a prequel story to the events in the main game.

According to the Amazon post:

"For the first time in the Arkham series take on the role of Joker’s psychotic side-kick Harley Quinn and wreak havoc inside the Blüdhaven Police Department. With this exclusive Story Pack experience events in the lead-up to Arkham Knight as you infiltrate Blüdhaven to rescue your partner in crime: Poison Ivy. Delve deep into Harley’s demented nature and utilize her devastating baseball bat to smash, crash and bash your way to a friend very much in need."

The post highlights the fact that the events in this content lead-up to the core story in Arkham Knight. It's also the first time that an Arkham game has taken place outside of Gotham. What's more, fans familiar with this new area also know that Bludhaven was first introduced in the Nightwing line of comics so it's more than likely Batman's former sidekick will be a major player in this content as well.

This DLC pack is just one of the pre-order bonuses being offered to players with the other focusing on the Red Hood, Batman's former protégé who prefers to use violence in his crime fighting tactics. At this time, no additional details have been provided about what this pre-order bonus entails.

Rocksteady is certainly no stranger to letting gamers play as other characters from the Batman universe. Outside of Robin and Nightwing being made available for challenge maps, Batman: Arkham City also let players explore Gotham as Catwoman in her own campaign story. With Harley Quinn now available for players to use in her own content in Arkham Knight and with signs pointing to this being Rocksteady's last "Arkham" game, it's entirely possible the developer is planning on adding more playable characters over time.

What's interesting with this news is that it doesn't specifically detail if this is a series of challenge maps set around an overarching story or if this is a true story based campaign similar to what Rocksteady did with 'Harley Quinn's Revenge' for Batman: Arkham City.

If Rocksteady is planning on adding more characters to the game's challenge rooms, who else would you like to see made playable from the Batman universe? Let us know below in the comments.

Batman: Arkham Knight releases on June 23 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Source: Cinemablend (via Arkhamverse, Amazon)