How Failed Pitches for Thief 4 and Blade Runner Created Dishonored
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Arkane Studios co-directors reveal that Dishonored was born from failed pitches for Thief 4 and a Blade Runner game after licensing deals fell through.
Gaming history often hinges on sudden twists, and few stories illustrate this better than the origins of Arkane Studios' stealth masterpiece, Dishonored. In a recent YouTube video spotted by Polygon, former co-directors Raphael Colantonio and Harvey Smith sat down to play through the opening of the game and revealed that Dishonored only exists because two other high-profile projects fell through. Back when Arkane was struggling financially, Bethesda approached the studio with an exciting opportunity to work on a new entry in the iconic Thief franchise.
Before that deal could solidify, Bethesda also dangled the possibility of securing the rights to a Blade Runner game. This led to a brief internal competition at Arkane where Colantonio led a team pitching concepts for Thief 4, while Smith spearheaded the work on a Blade Runner adaptation. Neither licensed project ultimately worked out because the publisher could not lock down the necessary rights. For a studio in a financially precarious spot, that failure could easily have meant the end of the road.
Instead, Bethesda told the developers to keep the momentum going and simply rebrand their work into an original intellectual property called Dishonored. As the project evolved, mechanics heavily inspired by Thief, such as traditional shadow concealment, were phased out in favor of the supernatural powers and unique visual identity that defined the final release. It is a fascinating reminder that sometimes the best things in gaming are born from corporate setbacks, giving us a beloved franchise that likely would never have seen the light of day if those licensed pitches had succeeded.
Tags: Arkane Studios, Dishonored, Polygon, Gaming History, Bethesda
Original article: Polygon