- Dishonored co-directors revealed that they almost made a Blade Runner game.
- Bethesda asked Arkane to pitch concepts for the IP, and the project moved beyond the concept stage.
- The studio was also asked to work on Thief 4, but both projects fell apart, and Arkane eventually made Dishonored.
Despite its storied history as a game developer, Arkane Studios has had a couple of misses, especially in recent years. The developer’s last game, Redfall, was a massive failure for Xbox and led to the closure of Arkane Austin, the company’s Texas-based studio.
The Dishonored creator did have enough credit in the bank to stay afloat, working on new projects and starting development on the Blade video game. But, according to former Arkane developers, the studio could have made a title based on a popular film before it even started work on Dishonored.
Why it matters: The gaming industry has failed to capture the unique aesthetic of Blade Runner so far, and arguably, Arkane was the best studio to take a punt at the IP.
While doing a playthrough of Dishonored alongside co-director Harvey Smith, Arkane founder Raphael Colantonio revealed that the studio was supposed to work on a Blade Runner game before Dishonored.
Before we did Dishonored we were supposed to do either Thief or Blade Runner. Bethesda was saying we’ll get one of them, and eventually none of them worked out.
The director stated that Bethesda offered the studio a chance to revive Blade Runner while also letting them pitch a new Thief sequel. As a result, Arkane developed ideas for both games, and the Blade Runner title even moved beyond the concept stage.
Dishonored co-director Harvey Smith went on to say that he loved the story pitch for the project and even made concepts involving replicant combat that utilised unusual physical combat behaviors. Furthermore, Arkane also had an amazing pitch for Thief 4, which was the title Colantonio wanted to work on.
However, both of the projects fell through at the end, and the co-directors were worried Bethesda wouldn’t want to work with Arkane without a popular IP. But, the studio was told to keep working on the immersive sim they were developing, with Bethesda suggesting they call this original title “Dishonored.”
Do you think a Blade Runner title from Arkane was a good idea? Was Thief 4 from the studio going to be better than the one from Eidos Montreal? Tell us in the comments below or head to the Tech4Gamers forum for discussion.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devotedly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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