New Dishonored Game Was Reportedly in Consideration at Arkane Before the Studio’s Closure

This week, Microsoft shocked fans and pundits when it announced the closure of four of Xbox’s first-party studios. Arkane Austin was among the studios that were closed, resulting in the cancellation of all post-game content for Redfall. According to reporting from Bloomberg, the developer had not started work on its next title, but “had been looking to return to its roots” with a new single-player game, which might have been a new entry in the Dishonored series, or some other type of “immersive sim.” That actually lines up with some of the job listings that were posted at Arkane Austin following Redfall‘s release last year. 

Will Dishonored Ever Come Back?

Unfortunately, it seems any potential plans Arkane Austin might have had for Dishonored won’t be happening now. It’s possible Dishonored could still make a comeback from Arkane Lyon; the IP is still owned by Xbox. However, with the team currently working on Marvel’s Blade, it could be a very long time before the series makes any kind of return. It’s also unclear if a new Dishonored would be seen as a priority for Bethesda, given that Microsoft seems to be picking future projects carefully, and looking for those with the highest potential return. 

Redfall and the Fall of Arkane

Redfall had a disastrous launch for Xbox when it released last year. The game’s critical reception was largely negative, and concurrent player counts on Steam quickly plunged. Despite the negativity surrounding the game, the closure of Arkane Austin still came as a major surprise when it was announced. In the year since Redfall‘s release, Microsoft and Bethesda had shown signs of support for the game, as well as the studio itself. Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty told Axios last June that keeping Arkane Austin open “is the plan right now” before going on to say that Redfall was getting “good play” on Xbox Game Pass. The game’s existence on Game Pass as a first-party title was also brought up in a September interview between Bethesda head of publishing Pete Hines and GamesIndustry.biz. Hines told the outlet “we’re going to get it to be a good game because we know, as a first-party studio, Game Pass lives forever.” 

All of these statements suggested that Arkane Austin wouldn’t be going anywhere, but things took a drastically different turn this week. Xbox has avoided blaming Redfall for the closure, instead attributing the decision to having too many development studios, and having resources spread too thin. That explanation has frustrated a lot of Xbox fans, given the sheer number of development teams the company has purchased over the last few years. 

Are you disappointed that Arkane Austin didn’t get a chance to work on another Dishonored? How do you feel about all the recent studio closures? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!