After Microsoft, Xbox killed Arkane Austin following Redfall, Dishonored director laments what could have been — “We were making something very cool.”

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It’s been a tough few years for the gaming industry, with lots of layoffs and studios closing down. But the news that Microsoft was closing Arkane Austin in 2024 really hit hard for many of us. They were the team behind the beloved stealth game *Dishonored* and the cult favorite *Prey*. It was especially disappointing because it happened just over a year after their 2023 game, *Redfall*, didn’t perform well when it came out.

The closure of Arkane Austin was upsetting for both the people who worked there and those who enjoyed their unique, immersive games, and we haven’t heard much about what led to it – until recently.

Harvey Smith, a veteran game developer known for his work on titles like System Shock and Deus Ex, recently shared his experiences on the My Perfect Console podcast. He talked about the difficult moment when he and his colleagues at Arkane Austin learned some disappointing news.

Smith said he received a call the night before, which led to a restless and worrying night. He acknowledged that every company has its own reasons for its choices, but added that he doesn’t usually share their perspective.

It was surprising, because we were really proud of the work we’d done. Some of us had collaborated on this particular project, while others, like me and Ricardo Bare, had been working together since the late 1990s.

Although the closing of Arkane Austin ended many established working relationships between developers, Smith was most concerned about how the shutdown would impact those early in their careers.

I felt especially bad for those who were new to the project or just starting out in the industry,” he said. “A lot of them were in shock, and I wanted to help, particularly because this was such a surprising and overwhelming experience for them.

Smith explained to Simon Parkin that he didn’t fully grasp the impact of the studio’s closure at first, as he was completely focused on fixing the problems with Redfall before Arkane Austin closed. Redfall had launched with significant technical issues and received criticism for its gameplay, so Smith and his team worked hard to address these problems. He said it took a couple of months before he finally had time to step back and process everything that was happening.

As a fan, I think Redfall could have really taken off if it had launched with all the improvements they made in update 1.4. I’m grateful that Microsoft and Xbox let the developers keep working on it after release, but honestly, I think shutting down the studio was a mistake.

I didn’t agree with the decision, but I was optimistic about the studio’s future. We had a really exciting project in the works,” Smith explained.

We never found out exactly what that exciting project was. However, he mentioned Arkane Austin had once started working on a new Thief game, but they stopped development when Eidos Interactive took over ownership of the franchise.

He also shared that the studio had previously been developing a Blade Runner game. He seemed very enthusiastic about the project, saying, “We were working on a Blade Runner game for a while, which was really exciting. I often thought about what we could have achieved with it…”

Like many fans of games like Dishonored and Prey, I was really disappointed to hear about the closure of Arkane Austin, and I’m concerned about what it means for the future of immersive sim games. Fortunately, there’s a great one you can play right now: Gloomwood, an early access title from David Szymanski (the creator of DUSK) and New Blood Interactive. There’s also hope that Marvel’s Blade, currently being developed by Arkane Lyon (the team behind Deathloop and Dishonored 2), will be another excellent example of the genre.

After the disappointing launch of Redfall, Microsoft decided to close Arkane Austin. Was this the right move? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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2025-12-22 21:40