Harvey Smith confirms no co-op in Dishonored 2, stays mum on mod support

We already knew that Dishonored 2 will be playable as either Corvo Attano, the royal bodyguard-cum-relentless agent of vengeance who headlined the first game, or Emily Kaldwin, the daughter of the slain Empress, for whom Corvo serves, for better or worse, as a father figure. But in the latest issue of GameInformer (via GameSpot), Creative Director Harvey Smith said the differences in the experience will run much deeper than just skill trees and voice acting.

Smith had previously said that Emily and Corvo will have very different abilities and styles of play, she a “finesse character” and he “more heavy and brutal.” But they will also have different assassination targets, and will experience and react to the story in unique ways. In other words, if you want the full experience, you'll have to play through twice—or maybe more.

“There is a lot of our game that nobody sees. We're throwing away huge amounts of work from that perspective,” Smith said. “But from our perspective, that's what makes it special—the fact that as you proceed through the game, you constantly have this sense that it's much bigger than what you're doing."

Dishonored 2 will have quicksave/quickload options alongside checkpoint saves, and Smith also confirmed that, even though the game has two protagonists, there will be no co-op play option. “Our game is about observation, stealth, taking your time, and playing at your own pace," he said. "Co-op would destroy it. Maybe there is a way somebody could do it, but this is not that experience."

Bethesda announced yesterday that Dishonored 2 will be out on November 11, with a voice cast featuring Vincent D'Onofrio, Rosario Dawson, and Stephen “Garrett!” Russell.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.