Raphael Colantonio, who started Arkane, shared his thoughts on Microsoft’s decision to close Arkane Austin, calling it a “dumb move.”
He explained to PC Gamer how unique the team at Arkane Austin was, with a special mix of talents that could have created another amazing game if given the chance. “It’s like catching lightning in a bottle,” Colantonio said. He emphasized that forming such a talented group takes ages, and trying to recreate it by just hiring more people and offering big salaries doesn’t work. “That’s what big groups do all the time. They try to just hire massively and overpay people to create those magic groups. It doesn’t work like this. So to me, that was stupid.”
Colantonio left Arkane after Prey came out in 2017, saying in another interview that he didn’t agree with Bethesda’s new direction toward live-service games, which led to games like Redfall. Fans sometimes wonder why companies make choices that seem so risky.
Even though Arkane Austin closed, Arkane Lyon is still around and busy with Marvel’s Blade. In May, Alpha Dog Games, Roundhouse Games, and Tango Gameworks also shut down, but Krafton later bought the developer of Hi-Fi Rush. Many of the old employees are back at Tango, and they’re working on a sequel to Hi-Fi Rush. Krafton knows it might not make money, but they think it’s important for creativity in gaming.
Meanwhile, Firewalk Studios got closed by Sony this week after their live-service game Concord flopped in August, meaning Concord is now done for good.
