Harvey Smith on Arkane Austin's Closure 'It Was a Shock'
With the failure of Redfall in 2023, a co-op shooter, the studio Arkane Austin, was closed by Microsoft. Harvey Smith, who was the former head of the studio and a creative director on the game, is now commenting about the closure, saying that he was not in agreement with this decision as well as surprised about it.
On Redfall's "Game as a Service" Approach
Smith, one of the main designers on games like Deus Ex and Dishonored, saw no issue in the attempt by the studio to produce a live-service title. He saw it as part of the industry's evolution toward a new area that companies often need to experiment with.
The industry has started exploring games as a service more…the way that it is. The unpredictable nature is creative.
Harvey Smith, former head of Arkane
Disagreement with the Studio Shutdown
According to Smith, the last nail in the coffin sounded like a real shock to the studio that has created some of the most iconic titles like Dishonored and Prey.
I don't always agree with them, but the biggest shock for me was [the closure of the studio] ... I was shocked and disagreed with the decision to close the studio. I really believed it had a future; we were doing some really cool stuff.
Harvey Smith
He confirmed the shutting down of Arkane Austin, while the studio was actively working on another ongoing project, closing the day one of work.
Impact on New Developers
Reportedly, Smith said, his biggest grief was with junior team members, who had their first experience with Redfall. He thought there were far more potentials within the studio which mostly came from the many young and talented developers.
Those were the ones I really felt sorry for. For most, this was their first project, or they were new to the industry.
Harvey Smith
On the Nature of Audience Feedback
Smith went into further discussion regarding the gritty nature of player feedback in the game industry, where most developers tend to get battered hard regardless of how well or poorly a game fares.
No matter how much they may love it, they'll fire off a stream of missiles of vitriol and toxic sarcasm on social media. And this happens every time you release a game. The vitriol will always be there, regardless of what you do.
Harvey Smith
