Overview
- In May 2026, Arkane co‑directors Raphaël Colantonio and Harvey Smith revealed in a Devs Play video that Dishonored grew out of competing internal pitches for Thief 4 and a Blade Runner game.
- Bethesda had asked Arkane to pitch one of those licensed projects, but when the publisher failed to secure the rights it told the studio to keep developing the work and release it as Dishonored.
- Colantonio led the Thief 4 pitch and supplied the initial base design, while Smith led the Blade Runner effort before joining Dishonored as co‑director when both deals collapsed.
- Arkane produced concrete assets for both concepts, including Thief concept videos and Blade Runner 3D renders and animation tests, and the team deliberately removed some Thief mechanics as Dishonored evolved its own systems.
- The disclosure explains how Bethesda's intervention kept Arkane afloat and shaped a game that went on to influence the stealth and immersive‑sim genres, a lineage that later included other studios' Thief projects.