Arkane Studios
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| Type | Subsidiary of ZeniMax Media |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video game industry Interactive entertainment |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Lyon, France |
| Key people | Raphaël Colantonio (CEO and creative director) Harvey Smith (game designer) Austin Grossman(Writer) |
| Products | Video games |
| Employees | 40 (2006)[1] |
| Parent | ZeniMax Media (2010-present) |
| Divisions | Arkane Studios LLC(Austin office)[2] |
| Website | www.arkane-studios.com |
Arkane Studios is a French video game developer based in Lyon, France. It was founded in 1999, and released its first game, Arx Fatalis, in 2002. Arkane Studios opened an Austin, Texas-based office in July 2006.[3]
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History [edit]
Arkane Studios's first game was Arx Fatalis. The studio's second game, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, was released in October 2006. It refined the first-person melee combat of Arx Fatalis with a lesser emphasis on role-playing elements.
In December 2006, the company announced its new first-person shooter title, The Crossing, which was later cancelled. Between 2006 and 2007, the company was working in conjunction with Valve Software to develop a game in the Half-Life series called Return to Ravenholm.[4] The project has since been cancelled and its existence has been confirmed by Valve employee Marc Laidlaw.[5] Arkane also began work on Electronic Arts's LMNO project featuring Steven Spielberg,[6] which was also later cancelled.
In 2008 the company also helped in the development of maps for the multiplayer component of Call of Duty: World at War.[7] In July 2009, 2K Marin announced that Arkane was signed up to help with BioShock 2 development, more specifically "design, animation, and art".[8]
In August 2010, the company was acquired by ZeniMax Media.[9] The studio most recently worked on Dishonored, a first-person stealth-action game with role-playing elements that was released in October 2012, and received with critical acclaim. Arkane also helped work on the highly successful video game Bioshock Infinite.
Games [edit]
| Title | Year | Genre | Platform | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arx Fatalis | 2002 | RPG | Xbox, Windows | |
| Dark Messiah of Might and Magic | 2006 | RPG | Xbox 360, Windows | |
| Half-Life 2: Episode 4 / Return to Ravenholm[10] | Cancelled | First-person shooter | ||
| Call of Duty: World at War | 2008 | First-person shooter | Xbox 360, Windows, PlayStation 3, Windows Mobile, Wii | Multiplayer only |
| The Crossing | Cancelled | First-person shooter | ||
| KarmaStar | 2009 | Strategy | iOS | |
| LMNO | Cancelled | Action | Level design assistance[11] | |
| BioShock 2 | 2010 | First person survival horror | OS X, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows | Level design assistance |
| Dishonored | 2012 | Stealth | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows |
References [edit]
- ^ http://www.gamespot.com/news/arkane-confirms-texas-studio-6153618
- ^ http://www.mobygames.com/company/arkane-studios-sa
- ^ "Arkane Studios Opens Austin Office". Austin Chapter. International Game Developers Association. 2006-07-07. Retrieved 2009-09-05.[dead link]
- ^ ""Return To Ravenholm" – A Cancelled 2007 Half-Life Project By Valve Software And Arkane Studios, Developers of Dark Messiah, Dishonored And The Crossing/". Lambda Generation. 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
- ^ "Marc Laidlaw On The Cancelled Half-Life Spin-offs: Return To Ravenholm And "Episode Four"". Lambda Generation. 2012-01-13. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
- ^ "The mirror men of Arkane". The Verge. June 27, 2012.
- ^ http://www.vg247.com/2009/07/10/arkane-named-as-fourth-bioshock-2-developer/
- ^ "BioShock 2 zaps fourth dev house". GameSpot. 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ Matas, Jeff (2010-08-12). "Zenimax Acquires Arkane Studios". Shacknews. GameFly Media. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
- ^ http://www.valvetime.net/threads/new-images-of-half-life-2-episode-4-return-to-ravenholm.243033/
- ^ http://www.1up.com/features/story-steven-spielberg-lmno?pager.offset=2
External links [edit]
- Official website
- Arkane Studios' entry at MobyGames
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