Dishonored 2‘s Production Budget was more than the Legendary Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and the Stealth-based Immersive Sim actually failed to live up to the revenue expectations from Bethesda and even struggled for sales, but still the game had managed to save it’s developer Arcane Studios in more ways than one, according to a former employee of the studio.
In a recent interview with PC Gamer, Julien Eveillé, former developer who worked in quality assurance for both Dishonored 2 and it’s follow-up story based DLC titled Death of the Outsider, has said that despite underperforming financially, the game had saved Arkane Studios by providing a “seal of quality protection” that would “maybe be considered the most refined games of the whole Bethesda catalogue.”
Eveillé stated that at the aftermath of the disappointing sales of both Dishonored 2 and Death of the Outsider, publisher Bethesda questioned the future viability of the Stealth-based series which does makes sense from an executive standpoint, he clarified.
“It was a bit strange and weird. I think when Bethesda was looking at the numbers, they thought, ‘Okay, 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?’ 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.”
Eveillé confirmed that this “kind of saved the studio,” which helped Arkane focus on continuing to make Videogames that pushed the boundaries of gameplay and level design. This direction eventually led to the creation of Deathloop which was critically acclaimed for it’s hugely innovative gameplay and narrative beats. Fans of these incredible games can surely expect the same level of genre-redefining quality from their upcoming game based on Marvel’s Blade, too.
Dishonored 2 is widely considered as one of the greatest Stealth based titles in the history of Videogames and although some of it’s technical aspects can look a bit outdated by today’s standards, it’s gameplay still remains consistently riveting and endlessly replayable.
