Arkane Lyon (Dishonored 1/2) now explicitly hiring for multiplayer, also hiring for VR

[Nirolak]

Notes:

• Previously, only Arkane Austin was hiring explicitly for online
• While Arkane Lyon has some server engineering jobs, and said they weren't making aggressively singleplayer games anymore, it was unclear if they were for multiplayer, or simply social connectivity in their games
• I believe this is also the first time they've hired for VR, though that could be for smalller VR experiences given ZeniMax's history

• A first experience in AAA titles, Multiplayer, VR and GAaS is a plus

Click to shrink...

Source: https://jobs.zenimax.com/requisitions/view/2173

 

[hydrophilic attack]

lyon is a very pleasant city

great food

 

[Manta_Breh]

I'm sad.


Does this mean Arkane is not doing another immersive sim like Dishonored or Prey?

 

[Ebtesam]

i can't blame them their games didn't sell well

 

[HeisenbergWW62]

what a shame

 

[Azzanadra]

Single player had to die because Bethesda is inept at marketing their games.

 

[BernardoOne]

Dishonored VR could be the most amazing thing ever.

 

[Nirolak]

I'm sad.


Does this mean Arkane is not doing another immersive sim like Dishonored or Prey?

Click to shrink...

They're cagey on that.

They basically said the spirit of immersive sims will remain in their games, but that YMMV on whether you would consider their new games to be them.

It's kind of like the RPG question with Mass Effect 2 or Horizon I imagine, where they expect people would debate exactly what it is.

 

[ActWan]

Now we'll wait for Harvey Smith to leave and we can throw that studio in the trash.

 

[Silky]

Single player had to die because Bethesda is inept at marketing their games.

Click to shrink...

Prey and Wolfenstein had a good marketing push and yet those bombed
I can't even argue Dishonored 2 had poor marketing compared to those games, but even then it had adverts everywhere and some considerable buildup before launch. Maybe TEW is like the only game beyond Death of the Outsider they barely marketed but this idea that Bethesda's 'inept marketing' is the cause of their SP effort failing seems like a poor excuse.

 

[Rogote]

I get the feeling Arkane will be doing games that will turn more profit, but I also get the feeling that they might no longer be for me, but I can't blame Arkane.

 

[HeisenbergWW62]

Now we'll wait for Harvey Smith to leave and we can throw that studio in the trash.

Click to shrink...

I hope he and all the wonderfully talented people there leave and form a new studio with a publisher who respects their work enough to market it. They're too damn talented to make multiplayer trash

 

[DSP]

Dishonored games were amazing, one of the few series where I could say I enjoyed every second of playing it, well except maybe their endings. There is really nothing like them so that's a big loss for sure but what can you do, they didn't sell. At least I guess the story kinda ended conclusively.

Interested to see if they are trying to combine immersive sim and online gameplay but it's hard to imagine it to be a similar experience or that it'd scratch the same itch.

I guess Battle Royale is really multiplayer immersive sim, lol

 

[Starlatine]

told ya it was a matter of time when people kept repeating "its just arkane austin, arkane lyon will be fine!!!"

save player one!
*check game sales*
save bethesda profits! everything is multiplayer now!

 

[Silky]

I hope he and all the wonderfully talented people there leave and form a new studio with a publisher who respects their work enough to market it. They're too damn talented to make multiplayer trash

Click to shrink...

The idea that Bethesda doesn't respect their work despite being completely hands off for the entirety of Dishonored 1/2/DotO and for that one instance where they requested Prey to be called as such is fucking hilarious to me. Bethesda is still one of the only publishers that is giving SP only products the time of day, and Rage 2 is literally the last shot for people like you -- people who want AAA single player games to be a thing -- to prove there's an audience for it.

You can be disappointed in those games underperforming but the narrative that they didn't market their games beyond TEW2 and DotO really needs to go away

--

People keep throwing around 'poor marketing' or 'didn't market enough' how do you determine what is "good" marketing in relation to that specific product. Months on end where news of the game is silent up to the release and said release is coming out alongside of Juggernauts? Yeah sure that's 'bad' but you can't say that applies to any of the Beth SP games besides, again, TEW2 and DotO

 

[Kelanflyter]

lyon is a very pleasant city

great food

Click to shrink...

I can't agree more.

 

[Jamrock User]

Dishonored 76

 

[Rogote]

The idea that Bethesda doesn't respect their work despite being completely hands off for the entirety of Dishonored 1/2/DotO and for that one instance where they requested Prey to be called as such is fucking hilarious to me. Bethesda is still one of the only publishers that is giving SP only products the time of day, and Rage 2 is literally the last shot for people like you -- people who want AAA single player games to be a thing -- to prove there's an audience for it.

You can be disappointed in those games underperforming but the narrative that they didn't market their games beyond TEW2 and DotO really needs to go away

Click to shrink...

Why? I think it's true they didn't market them. You saw that sentiment a alot at the time, and you don't get that sentiment on that level for many games so there was a reason a lot of people perceived it to be ineptly marketed. I wouldn't have known that Prey released when it did if I didn't visit this site, and I tend to be on top of release dates. I didn't see it anywhere.

 

[Linus815]

yeah rip

 

[Xater]

The return of the immersive sim was nice while it lasted. I hope it won't be almost a decade again for a new one to be made.

 

[QuigleyMcShine]

I wonder if I'd need to learn French.

 

[HypedBulborb]

Prey 2 getting a MP mode and the ability to play the whole game in VR? Sounds good to me.

Spoiler

Please make a Prey 2

 

[OnanieBomb]

This makes me sad, but it's the way things are going.

 

[Dabi3]

I'd be down for an Arkane styled MP game.

 

[Silky]

Why? I think it's true they didn't market them. You saw that sentiment a alot at the time, and you don't get that sentiment on that level for many games so there was a reason a lot of people perceived it to be ineptly marketed. I wouldn't have known that Prey released when it did if I didn't visit this site, and I tend to be on top of release dates. I didn't see it anywhere.

Click to shrink...

I willingly ignored any details of Prey up until the release of the demo (which came out a month before the game launched!) and still I saw plenty of YT/Facebook/Twitter adverts and televised commercials. It's anecdotal sure but for what is essentially a """ new IP """ for Bethesda they sure as shit marketed it. Prey, next to Injustice 2 (a fucking fighting game) was the only big game to release in May of that year, may was essentially a dead month.

I can give a brief glance of the previews for that game and the press ultimately had praise for the game beyond the weirdos who still think Prey is a lucrative IP and were mad about Prey 2 not being s thing. Positive word of mouth, a demo before launch for people to get a feel of the game, copious amounts of traditional internet/syndicated ads. What more does Bethesda need to do? How do we, as "enthusiasts" determine how much money is necessary to market a game properly?

 

[Freddo]

Prey 2 getting a MP mode and the ability to play the whole game in VR? Sounds good to me.

Spoiler

Please make a Prey 2

Click to shrink...

Prey in co-op with a friend would be awesome.

 

[Deleted member 36493]

Wack

 

[SFLUFAN]

Maybe this could be an opportunity to resurrect The Crossing!

 

[cosmickosm]

Bummer if they're moving away from single player focused games. I play the entire Dishonored series recently and it was a damn joy to play.

 

[Sargerus]

Not gonna lie, an MP game with Dishonored controls sounds very interesting.

 

[janusff]

Oooh VR. Cool

 

[FallenGrace]

VR and gaas are not words that get me excited but multiplayer can be great depending on how it's handled.

I shall take a wait and see approach rather than worry, Arkane have certainly earned that from me.

 

[KainXVIII]

Dishonored 76

Click to shrink...

 

[Deleted member 8408]

Keep your GaaS out of my VR immersive sims.

 

[OmniBaneSolid]

You know, if they made a multiplayer immersive sim , like Divine Cybermancy and streets of rogue, I can see this being a unique take on the genre. I only hope it's as good as Dishonored.

 

[Derrick01]

Well we'll always have Prey and Dishonored 2 at least. When Arkane becomes just another studio we can always remember the good times.

 

[Iscariot]

Single player had to die because Bethesda is inept at marketing their games.

Click to shrink...

I think it's more like the public is inept at buying them. D2, Wolf2, and TEW2 all had pretty active ad campaigns.

 

[Dr. Caroll]

Why? I think it's true they didn't market them. You saw that sentiment a alot at the time, and you don't get that sentiment on that level for many games so there was a reason a lot of people perceived it to be ineptly marketed. I wouldn't have known that Prey released when it did if I didn't visit this site, and I tend to be on top of release dates. I didn't see it anywhere.

Click to shrink...

All those games had extensive advertising. The reason The Evil Within 2 leaked in the first place was because of Reddit advertising. Dishonored 2 had bus ads everywhere over here. You see that sentiment because it's a sentiment people love to wheel out every time a game underperforms no matter how absurdly untrue it is.

 

[Blizz]

Loved their previous output and would've loved to see more of their take on the immersive sim genre, but I understand that at the end of the day it's a business and they need to make a profit to keep afloat, best of luck.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Seems every upcoming Bethesda Title that isn't Bethesda themselves will have MP of some kind. Upcoming Wolfenstein has Coop, we know tango gameworks was looking at it as well. Now arkane has it too.

I personally don't mind, so long as they're not trying make things Hugely MP GAAS focused. Like there's a big difference with Coop or some other competitive aspects with MTX and making a game like destiny for example.

 

[JarlRaven]

I'm still optimistic that Arkane can deliver a quality and perhaps even groundbreaking title with this new focus. As a reference, the upcoming DOOM Eternal basically has that Dark Souls inspired "invasion" system and that's a multiplayer feature that's appealing to me. Very few studios interest me enough to buy every piece of content day one and they've earned my benefit of the doubt with their work the past 6 years.

 

[Falchion]

I hope their next project is more commercially successful because they've made really good games.

 

[Azzanadra]

I think it's more like the public is inept at buying them. D2, Wolf2, and TEW2 all had pretty active ad campaigns.

Click to shrink...

Prey and Wolfenstein had a good marketing push and yet those bombed
I can't even argue Dishonored 2 had poor marketing compared to those games, but even then it had adverts everywhere and some considerable buildup before launch. Maybe TEW is like the only game beyond Death of the Outsider they barely marketed but this idea that Bethesda's 'inept marketing' is the cause of their SP effort failing seems like a poor excuse.

Click to shrink...

I'm not saying they didn't have active ad campaigns or didn't market the games at all, rather the ones they did have were "inept", as in they were bad and misguided. Like all those cheesy live action commercials, whose idea was that? That Dishonored 2 one for example would turn me off the game so hard if I wasn't already a fan of the series and wasn't an enthusiast gamer.

 

[Nirolak]

Seems every upcoming Bethesda Title that isn't Bethesda themselves will have MP of some kind. Upcoming Wolfenstein has Coop, we know tango gameworks was looking at it as well. Now arkane has it too.

I personally don't mind, so long as they're not trying make things Hugely MP GAAS focused. Like there's a big difference with Coop or some other competitive aspects with MTX and making a game like destiny for example.

Click to shrink...

To recap in full...

Internal Studios:

• MachineGames: Wolfenstein 2.5 has co-op, and was hiring for online and games as a service in general.
• id: Hiring lots of online staff, said they want all their upcoming games to be games as a service. Doom has multiplayer made in-house, along with the versus campaign thing.
• Arkane Austin: Adding competitive multiplayer to Prey, presumably as a test bed for their future games. Is into the Games as a Service idea.
• Arkane Lyon: Is hiring for Games as a Service and multiplayer, but it's not clear what kind of multiplayer. Also, it's not 100% clear to me these branches aren't on the same game again.
• ZeniMax Online Studios: Managing TESO (which is doing better than ever) and also getting into making multiple mobile games. Edit: Correction! They're also making a new IP for consoles, as I just noticed.
• Tango: It's not actually clear they're doing multiplayer, though Mikami wanted The Evil Within to be co-op before Bethesda forced them to drop that. I imagine they would be way more receptive to that idea now. Japanese job postings don't tend to have useful information, so it's hard to say here.
• Bethesda: Fallout 76 is an online only game. The Elder Scrolls Blades is a mobile game with online options. Starfield is stated to not have co-op or competitive multiplayer, but they were clear that they're rather interested in some kind of social component there, and I'm guessing a Games as a Service component too. They actually didn't state what The Elder Scrolls VI was; I suspect it won't be online only like Fallout 76 (and they did imply this much), but it could plausibly have optional co-op.

External Studios:

• Sparkypants: Took over The Elder Scrolls Legends, which will be getting much more aggressive updates going forward.
• Avalanche: Rage 2 does not have online, though it will have Games as a Service components. Avalanche is aggressively hiring to add online to their future AAA games though, so I suspect Rage 3 will have online if they decide to make one.
• Saber: Making Quake Champions (they provided all but 5 of the core development team until recently). This is an online games as a service game.
• Bonus: ZeniMax/Bethesda is hiring a bunch of people to manage external mobile development, so they probably have a few more partner studios making mobile games.

There isn't strong evidence they're making something like Destiny as it stands. Edit: Actually, the new ZeniMax Online Studios IP I just noticed could be a Destiny type game.

 

[HyGogg]

Not too surprising. Arkane is hitting pause on Dishonored and Prey and I think that's the right decision even though I love those games. Let them do something different and come back to Dishonored when the time is right.

 

[Deleted member 11976]

Not sure if it matters but there is PREY VR experience that Austin is (still?) working on, announced back at E3 2018. So, it might appear that both units are looking into rounding out their experience/staffing in the area. Doesn't necessarily mean that Lyon is helping on the Austin PREY VR thing though.

 

[Nirolak]

Not sure if it matters but there is PREY VR experience that Austin is (still?) working on, announced back at E3 2018. So, it might appear that both units are looking into rounding out their experience/staffing in the area. Doesn't necessarily mean that Lyon is helping on the Austin PREY VR thing though.

Click to shrink...

When they merged Escalation Studios into Bethesda Game Studios, I think that removed a lot of the centralized VR resources, so I wouldn't be surprised if each branch staffs up a bit on that front.

 

[The Almighty Tria]

Dishonored 76!

 

[Manta_Breh]

Prey and Wolfenstein had a good marketing push and yet those bombed
I can't even argue Dishonored 2 had poor marketing compared to those games, but even then it had adverts everywhere and some considerable buildup before launch. Maybe TEW is like the only game beyond Death of the Outsider they barely marketed but this idea that Bethesda's 'inept marketing' is the cause of their SP effort failing seems like a poor excuse.

Click to shrink...

Nah prey had god awful marketing IIRC. It wasnt until I read Era impressions and played the demo myself I realised what an incredible gem it was. After that seemed like it was all via word of mouth. Not to mention, the game was incredibly buggy upon release and ran pretty badly on consoles (PS4 for me) .. Came across a few game breaking bugs, but thanks to a lot of back up saves, I escaped.

The state it released in was unacceptable.

 

[Blizz]

Prey and Wolfenstein had a good marketing push and yet those bombed
I can't even argue Dishonored 2 had poor marketing compared to those games, but even then it had adverts everywhere and some considerable buildup before launch. Maybe TEW is like the only game beyond Death of the Outsider they barely marketed but this idea that Bethesda's 'inept marketing' is the cause of their SP effort failing seems like a poor excuse.

Click to shrink...

Prey never had a good marketing push, I remember it being one of the main complaints leading to the launch of the game.