Developers pay tribute to immersive sim titans Arkane Austin and the career-shaping Dishonored series: "One of those games that changed my world view on game design"

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Arkane Austin helped lead development on the first game

Dishonored 2: Death of the Outsider
(Image credit: Arkane)

Tributes for the Dishonored series and Arkane Austin are pouring in from game developers in the wake of the studio's closure.

Following Microsoft's shocking decision to close both Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks yesterday, a report claimed that Arkane Austin had been pitching a new Dishonored game before it was closed. Plenty of social media users are mourning what could have been, as well as speaking out in frustration as the same report claimed Tango had pitched Hi-Fi Rush 2 to Microsoft before its closure.

Game developers, however, are speaking out in tribute for the Dishonored series at large. Just below, you can see a litany of tweets from game developers around the world, with some going so far as to write that the Dishonored games changed their "world view on game design," and was a source of inspiration and admiration for other developers. 

There's also a lot of frustration that Microsoft's press release confirming Arkane Austin's closure failed to mention the Dishonored games. The tweet below, for example, criticizes Microsoft for omitting one of the more influential game series of the past generation and focusing instead on the developer's more recent efforts with Redfall.

Unfortunately, following the studio's closure, there has been some misunderstanding about Arkane Austin's role in the Dishonored series. Many argue that it was purely Arkane Lyon who made the series, but that isn't true—the first Dishonored was a joint project between Arkane Austin and Lyon. Austin led the production, while Lyon was in charge of the artistic direction.

After a year of Xbox execs celebrating Hi-Fi Rush as a "break out hit" and saying "we don't quit" on games like Redfall, everyone wants to know what changed.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.