Dishonored studio Arkane teases 20th anniversary celebration plans

News
By published

Arkane is 20 this year, and it's not going to let the milestone pass unremarked.

dishonored
(Image credit: Arkane)

I find it hard to believe that Arkane Studios has been around for 20 years, but facts are facts: It was founded in 1999, released its first game (the brilliant Arx Fatalis) in 2002, and—with all due respect—languished in relative obscurity until Dishonored put it on the map in a big way in 2012. And while the official anniversary won't arrive until October 1 (according to Wikipedia at least), the big celebration plans will be unveiled, at least in part, tomorrow.

Alas, nothing more has been said about what might be coming. I'd love a remaster of Arx Fatalis or Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (or both, since we're casting wishes here) but the greater likelihood is that we'll get some word on Deathloop, the new game announced at E3 2019 that Jody described (aptly, I'd say) as "Groundhog Day with assassins."

A recently-released documentary video on Arkane's history dove deep into the development of Dishonored and Prey, but also contained a surprisingly up-close look at Ravenholm, the long-ago-canceled Half-Life 2 spinoff episode the studio was working on. 

Bolder prognosticators than myself might venture hope that Arkane's birthday party plans include a playable prototype of that long-lost venture, but no, that's not going to happen, if for no other reason than that Arkane has been a Bethesda studio since 2010.

Unless... it might?

No! It won't! But we'll keep you posted on what is going on when Arkane fills in the blanks tomorrow.

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

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.