Arkane Austin’s Closure Surprises Lead Behind Dishonored and Deus Ex: ‘We Had Achieved Great Things’
It’s been over a year since Arkane Austin, the Texas-based studio behind Prey and Redfall, was shut down as Microsoft shifted its focus to “high-impact” titles. Leading the team was Harvey Smith, renowned for his contributions to iconic games like Deus Ex and Dishonored. In a recent episode of My Perfect Console, Smith took a moment to reflect on the studio’s closure.
The two-hour podcast delves into Smith’s impressive three-decade career, but it kicks off with a discussion about one of the studio’s toughest moments. He recounted receiving a call the night before the May 2024 announcement of Arkane’s closure, expressing concern for the developers who were relatively new to the industry and had only worked on a couple of projects before joining the team for Redfall. He was taken aback by the decision, noting that Arkane had produced “really good work.”
“Every company makes the decisions they make for the reason they make them,” Smith stated. “I don’t often agree with those decisions, but the main shock was that this studio created Dishonored, alongside the Lyon studio, and then Prey. We were working on Redfall during the pandemic while the industry was exploring games-as-a-service. Creative efforts are unpredictable.”
Smith acknowledged his role in the challenges Redfall faced as the studio director but emphasized that he feels “privileged” overall, having a long career filled with ups and downs. In contrast, many at Arkane Austin were just beginning their journeys in game development when the shutdown occurred, having only contributed to one project. He noted that lengthy resumes in the gaming industry are becoming increasingly rare, making his experience of navigating both triumphs and setbacks less common.
“I’m one of those rare individuals with no complaints, but that’s a bit of survivorship bias since things have worked out for me,” Smith reflected. “Even during tough times, I can look back and see a long track of highs and lows, which puts things into perspective.”
He shared a personal anecdote about being laid off from a previous job, where HR tried to comfort him and others by saying it was just a bump in the road, emphasizing that most people have multiple jobs throughout their lives. However, as Smith points out, that was once a more accurate statement. In the current gaming landscape, layoffs are at an all-time high, impacting even the most successful companies. The emotional toll of Arkane Austin’s closure likely hits harder for those who felt they had finally “made it” by joining a studio known for Dishonored. While Redfall may not have turned out to be the next big live-service success, it’s disheartening to see a studio with such a rich legacy caught in the live-service frenzy and ultimately shut down when things didn’t pan out.
