Summary
Despite not selling as well as some other Bethesda titles,Dishonored 2may have saved Arkane Studios, according to a former designer for the company. The sequel to 2012’s stealth action RPGDishonoredis one of the most highly praised games of its time. Ultimately, though,Dishonored 2made a big enough impression on players to make up for its less-than-stellar financial performance.
Today, people largely remember Arkane’s fantasy assassin series fondly. While other Bethesda titles like theElder Scrollsseries may be more prominent,Dishonoredis considered one of the best stealth franchisesfor new and experienced fans of the genre alike. However, Bethesda was not always confident in the games or the team behind them.
In an interview with PC Gamer, former Arkane designer Julien EveilléclaimedDishonored 2saved the studiodespite underwhelming sales. According to Eveillé, the game cost more thanSkyrimto make but sold significantly less, leading Bethesda to question its relationship with Arkane. Still,Dishonored 2ended up being what Eveillé called one of “the most refined games of the whole Bethesda catalog,” and that level of quality was enough to preserve the ongoing partnership between the two companies. Considering howBethesda games have a reputation for bugs, it’s understandable how a more polished title would be a boon for the publisher, even if it didn’t get quite as popular as other properties.
Dishonored 2’s Quality Saved Arkane Despite High Costs and Low Sales
That quality guarantee seemed to have worked. Nine years after the release ofDishonored 2,Arkane is still putting out games for Bethesda. The studio releasedDeathloopin 2021 andhas been working onMarvel’s Bladesince 2022, now eyeing a potential 2027 release. Its work has yet to reach the kind of mainstream popularity thatSkyrimhas enjoyed, but it seems its commitment to quality and focus on its own style has paid off in terms of its ongoing success under Bethesda.
Not all subsidiaries have been quite so lucky.Xbox shut down Arkane Austin,among a handful of other Bethesda studios, in 2024. While some of the companies in that cull — notably, Tango Gameworks — ultimately survived, Arkane’s Austin-based team has officially ended, althoughJudas’s Ken Levine has expressed interest in hiring ex-Arkane Austin devs. In that case, the company’s reputation for quality may end up helping its former employees beyond their tenure at Bethesda.
