Arkane Austin was reportedly pitching an immersive sim before closure

Arkane Austin was reportedly pitching an immersive sim title before its closure, it’s claimed.

In a new report from Bloomberg, it’s claimed the team behind Prey and Redfall was looking to go back to the immersive sim genre following the disappointing reception to its multiplayer vampire shooter.

“Before its closure, Arkane had been looking to return to its roots by pitching a new single-player ‘immersive sim’ game, such as a new entry in the Dishonored series, according to the people familiar,” the report reads.

According to Bloomberg, during a town hall meeting on Wednesday morning, head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty told staff that the shuttering of Arkane Austin was not related to the commercial and critical failure of Redfall.

It’s also reported that Jill Braff, head of ZeniMax studios, told those in attendance that she hoped that the closure would allow the company to focus on fewer, larger projects.

“It’s hard to support nine studios all across the world with a lean central team with an ever-growing plate of things to do,” she said, according to Bloomberg.

Following the closure news, Arkane Lyon boss Dinga Bakaba called the move “a fucking gut stab” in a public social media post. Bakaba is currently working on Blade, Xbox’s first exclusive collaboration with Marvel Games.

Arkane Austin will be shut alongside Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango Gameworks, Elder Scrolls Online co-developer Roundhouse, and Mighty Doom developer Alpha Dog.

Arkane Austin’s final game, Redfall, has officially been abandoned. ‘Hero Pass’ DLC for the game, which had remained in development despite the game’s bad launch, has now been cancelled, with Zennimax claiming that it will provide “make-good,” offers for those who already purchased the content.