Game costs have been going up for years now, and in between 2011, the year The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim release, and Dishonored 2’s launch year 2016, of course an increased budget was to be expected. However, spending more on a smaller franchise and studio put Bethesda’s watchful eye on Arkane Lyon, and could have even led to the studio not being around anymore.
That’s according to former Arkane designer Julien Eveillé, who – in speaking with PC Gamer – outlined how Dishonored 2 was simply so good that it gave Arkane a seal of approval. “I think when Bethesda was looking at the numbers, they thought, OK, Skyrim sold so much. And it cost less than Dishonored 2 to make. So they were asking questions. From an executive spend standpoint, it makes sense to ask those questions of, ‘Why should we keep going with you?'” he said. “But we knew that we had a kind of seal-of-quality protection, making what would maybe be considered the most refined games of the whole Bethesda catalogue.”
This reputation has proven to keep Arkane going for years, and it’s latest release following Dishonored 2, Deathloop, was another quality title. Eveillé believes that what made Arkane successful also came down to a message from studio director Dinga Bakaba, who gave confidence back to management after the departure of studio founder Raphael Colantionio.
“Let’s stop trying to make buzzword games, games-as-a-service and all that kind of stuff, we are Arkane, we want to make something special,” Eveillé recalls Bakaba saying.
As we know, while Arkane Lyon might be protected by its seal of approval, Arkane Austin wasn’t so lucky, despite making Prey. It seems that one flop is worth a lot more than one success in the eyes of executives nowadays.