Arkane Says the Dishonored Series Is ‘Resting for Now’

Arkane Studios’ marquee series, Dishonored, seems like a franchise that could carry on for a while. This holds especially true, since the world is rich with stories to tell and characters worthy of attention. However, according to the studios’ Lead Designer Ricardo Bare, Dishonored may sit on the back-burner for the foreseeable future.

When Bare talked to VG247 during QuakeCon 2018, he revealed that the studio’s acclaimed stealth series is taking a break. Bare told the publication, “I can’t say definitively what might happen down the road, anything could happen, but [Dishonored] is resting for now.

For fans of the assassination-centric franchise, this news may seem like the best course of action. The standalone expansion, Death of the Outsider, set after the events of Dishonored 2, finished the story arc that began in the first Dishonored. Loose ends were tied up and questions aplenty receive worthwhile answers.

Of course, with Arkane Studios setting aside Dishonored, we are left to wonder what the talented team will tackle next. Bare did not share if a Prey sequel is in the cards. However, the designer did affirm the studio’s commitment to telling rich stories in immersive worlds.

The things that are important to us as a studio are coherent, deep world building and environmental storytelling – we’re always going to craft spaces that you feel like you’re visiting, whether it’s Dunwall or Talos 1. It’s just as important a character as the player or the people you meet. Then it’s improvisational gameplay – giving players a bunch of cool abilities and tools, then saying, ‘You figure it out, you be creative, you own the experience’. And, typically, we stick to first-person, though that’s not a hard rule and we might try other things from time to time.

Whatever Arkane Studios has up its sleeve, the experience will no doubt be engrossing.

[Source: VG247]