Dishonored and Prey's director says 'I could see myself working on Dishonored 3 right now' but the chances of that happening is in the realms of 'science fiction'

(Image credit: WolfEye Studios)

Of all the unmade sequels that I'd like to exist, Dishonored 3 is at the top of the list. The original Dishonored ranks among my favourite games ever (especially when you throw in its incredible expansions), while Dishonored 2 is generally regarded as one of the best games of all time.

Sadly, a third game never happened due to the second selling below publisher Bethesda's expectations, and the chances of it being made anytime soon remain highly unlikely. Dishonored 2's developer Arkane Lyon is currently working on a Blade game headed up by Deathloop's director Dinga Bakaba, while its sister studio Arkane Austin shut down last year following 2023's underwhelming Redfall

But where there is a will, there is a way. And for Arkane cofounder and Dishonored codirector Raphaël Colantonio, the will at least is there. Speaking on the Quad Damage podcast (via RPS), Colantonio said that he generally likes to work on totally new games, and especially felt that way after the first Dishonored.

"After Dishonored 1, the last thing I wanted to do for the next four years of my life was Dishonored 2," Colantonio said on the podcast, adding. "In general I like to create new stuff" Hence why Dishonored 2 was directed by Harvey Smith, while Colantonio oversaw 2017's Prey at Arkane Austin. While Prey is technically part of the same series as Human Head's 2006 shooter, it's worth noting that the name was apparently foisted onto the project against Colantonio's wishes.

Quad Damage Podcast - Discover Raphaël Colantonio, the Genius Behind Arkane Studios' Success - YouTube

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Thirteen years on from Dishonored's launch, however, Colantonio feels much more enthusiastic about returning to the series. "I'd love to. I mean, we're talking totally hypothetically at this point. I could see myself working on Dishonored 3 right now because it's been so long that, you know, why not?"

None of this makes Dishonored 3 any more real, of course. But Colantonio does mention that Dishonored 3 does exist in slightly more tangible form. Several forms, in fact. "I had a document about Dishonored 3. Harvey [Smith] has a document about Dishonored 3. I think Dinga has one too," Colantonio says. "Which of those three versions will ever see the day, now we're talking about science fiction at this point."

Colantonio himself departed Arkane following the release of Prey to found WolfEye Studio, where he's currently working on an unnamed first-person Action RPG (which is what immersive sim developers call immersive sims in the hope that people will actually buy them). Little else is known about the game right now, but Colantonio did recently tell PC Gamer that the sci-fi world the game is set in will favour "density over size" and that it will maintain the spirit of the games Colantonio made at Arkane. "We are even closer to that Fallout thing, [but] still with the values of previous games we've worked on like Prey and Dishonored."

Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.