Veteran game designer Harvey Smith has spoken candidly about Microsoft’s surprise decision to shut down Arkane Austin, calling the move a personal and professional gut punch. For the Dishonored co-creator, the studio’s abrupt end in May 2024 still stings especially for the younger developers blindsided by it.
Arkane Austin shutdown followed Redfall’s rocky reception
Speaking on the My Perfect Console podcast, Smith revealed how he found out about the closure: a late-night call the day before the announcement. He didn’t sleep. Redfall had already been through a rough launch, but the idea that the studio would be shuttered completely came out of nowhere.
Smith described a sense of guilt over the game’s failure, taking full responsibility for its direction. “It was a live-service experiment,” he admitted, noting the complications of building something ambitious during the pandemic. Still, the blow hit hardest for new team members who had just gotten their start in the industry.
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Smith stayed to deliver Redfall’s final patch
Rather than walk away, Smith focused on helping the team finish Redfall’s 1.4 patch, which added offline mode, system improvements, and a more complete version of what Arkane originally envisioned. Microsoft, to its credit, allowed the team to finish that final update before closing the doors.
“It was a huge full-court press inside the company,” Smith said. “The game that sits up there today is much better than the one we released at launch.”
Even so, the studio’s closure wasn’t something he agreed with. He believed Arkane Austin had more to offer.
A canceled Blade Runner game was in development
Smith also dropped a surprising detail: Arkane Austin was working on a Blade Runner game before the closure. While he didn’t go deep into the pitch, he hinted at the creative potential the team was tapping into.
“We were working on a Blade Runner game, which was super exciting to me,” he said. “What we could have done with Blade Runner…”
That idea now joins the long list of canceled projects with promise and no future.
Arkane Austin’s legacy ends on an unfinished note
The closure of Arkane Austin wasn’t just the end of a studio. It cut short a veteran-led team with deep creative roots and left younger developers with a jarring first experience in the industry. Redfall may have missed the mark at launch, but for Smith, the studio still had more in the tank.
The Dishonored co-creator made it clear: they didn’t get to show everything they had planned. And with Blade Runner in the wings, that loss feels even sharper.
