Ex Dishonored 2 Dev Says The Reputation Of The Franchise “Saved” Arkane

The first title of the action-adventure franchise Dishonored by Arkane Studio was well received when it was released in 2012 and has sold 5.8 million copies. However, its sequel performed less well, with its sales less than half of the first game at around 2.2 million. Not only is there a huge gap between the two games in the same franchise, the sequel is said to have a higher production cost compared with Skyrim, but it sold less. 

This is according to former Arkane Lyon designer Julien Eveillé, who joined the studio as a QA engineer at Dishonored 2 before transferring to the design team of Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, a standalone expansion that was released in 2017. He said that it was thanks to the series’ reputation, which provided a “seal-of-quality protection” that helped save the studio.

“I think when Bethesda was looking at the numbers,” Eveillé spoke to PC Gamer, “they thought, OK, Skyrim sold so much. And it cost less than Dishonored 2 to make. So they were asking questions. From an executive spend standpoint, it makes sense to ask those questions of, 'Why should we keep going with you?’”

When one investment doesn’t bring as much return as another, it may be time to reconsider and possibly stop it. Fortunately, the team was in a position that was not easily shaked. “We knew that we had a kind of seal-of-quality protection, making what would maybe be considered the most refined games of the whole Bethesda catalogue.”

Besides the protection from their reputation, Studio Director Dinga Bakaba also played a crucial role in reassuring upper management after the studio’s founder, Raphael Colantonio, left. Eveillé recalled that Bakaba emphasized Arkane’s focus on making “something special” and they should “stop trying to make buzzword games, games-as-a-service and all that kind of stuff.” And this approach was approved to be working well in bringing the “future success of the studio.”

However, this good luck wasn't spreading out to Arkane Austin. A year after Redfall's problematic release, the studio was shut down by Microsoft, along with Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks.