Arkane founder teases his next project, a 'retro sci-fi first-person' game, and now I'm thinking a whole lot about the Prey sequel we never got
Arkane co-founder Raphael Colantonio, who left the studio in 2017 and launched indie developer WolfEye Studios a couple years later, is teasing his next game—and even though it's just scribbles on a whiteboard, I am already excited.
It's been a subtle process so far, beginning with an image of Colantonio and his longtime cohort and WolfEye CEO Julien Roby "pitching [a] new game at GDC."
Not a whole lot to see there: A building or refinery of some sort, maybe a power plant, situated out in a desert-like locale, with some floating techno-doodads hovering nearby. Also notable in the bottom-left corner of the screen are the words, "Retro sci-fi RPG."
I am intrigued.
The next day we got a "sneak peek" at what's cooking in WolfEye's Austin office, including that whiteboard:
Again, the words "retro sci-fi RPG," this time accompanied by two more: "First person."
I am more intrigued.
Then (because yes, there's more), a follower laid out a sort of wishlist of features in the new game: First-person, atmospheric retro sci-fi setting, RPG mechanics, branching storyline, immersive sim, and aliens—to which Roby replied, "5 out of 6?"
Oh my.
This actually isn't the first time WolfEye's new project has come up. In May 2023, Colantonio said the studio intended to "get more ambitious" with its next game, and also promised that it will be free of, as one Twitter poet put it, "NFT bullshit."
Colantonio has had a remarkable run over the past 20 years, from Arx Fatalis in 2002 through Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, the Dishonored series, Prey, and WolfEye's debut game, Weird West—and Roby played a central role in all of them except Prey. (He left Arkane in 2013 after the release of the first Dishonored.)
There is admittedly some bias there: I'm a pretty big immersive sim guy, and it will never not bug me that Prey didn't get the sequel it so richly deserved.
Which leads to one final bit of tantalizing talk from Colantonio that actually occurred earlier this month: In response to a Twitter user asking for more Prey, he said, "I'll do my best to bring you more," which he clarified to mean "more games in that vein."
A first-person retro sci-fi immersive sim does sound a lot like a "game in that vein," doesn't it? Which is fine by me: If I can't have Prey 2, I will absolutely take Prey-inspired. It'll likely be a long time yet before WolfEye's next game is properly revealed, but for now I'm happy enough just knowing, as the saying goes, it's happening.
Speaking of Prey, if you haven't played it yet it's currently on sale for $6 on GOG, and Weird West is down to $10—or if you really want to dive deep, Arx Fatalis is $1. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.