WolfEye Studios, an indie developer made up of ex-Arkane Studios veterans, teased its next game Thursday: an action RPG with a retro sci-fi aesthetic that looks to combine the looks and gameplay of Fallout and Dishonored.
Studio president and co-founder Raphael Colantonio, who helped found Arkane, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) earlier this week that the game will appeal to fans of Dishonored and Prey, and just from the screenshots, that appears to be the case. The robots and machines in the images look grimy and clunky, with off-putting humanoid features that are very reminiscent of Fallout’s Atomic Age aesthetic.
“Fans of the past games I have been involved with such as Dishonored and Prey will feel at home, as well as fans of RPGs in general,” Colantonio said in a press release.
Colantonio expanded upon the untitled game’s vision in interviews with various publications alongside WolfEye’s other co-founder Julien Roby. Talking with Eurogamer, Colantonio said, “If there is such a thing as a continuum between Fallout and Dishonored, I would say Prey is somewhere in the middle because it’s already more RPG than Dishonored, and this new game is somewhere closer to Fallout, as far as the RPG-ness goes.”
Colantonio and Roby didn’t reveal a lot of details, but here’s what we know. The new game will be a first-person action RPG that takes place in an alternate 1900s America — specifically, somewhere in the Old West. Most importantly, it’ll be an immersive sim, so players can approach objectives in various ways, a genre Arkane mastered over multiple games like the Dishonored series and Prey.
The game is officially out of pre-production, according to the developers, and is entering full production while looking for a publisher. While we won’t learn more until sometime next year, players can sign up to possibly get into the private alpha test on the studio’s website, which is slated for 2025.
In the meantime, you can probably look out for more hints and teases on social media. The studio sort of announced the game in March during the Game Developers Conference, although it was just an image of a whiteboard with the words “Retro Sci-Fi” and “First Person” written on it. It’s possible we’ll see more silly teases going forward.
Colantonio was one of the founders of Arkane Studios, and was there for 18 years, working as the creative director on many of its most iconic titles, such as the Dishonored series and Prey. Roby was there for 11 years, but recently worked on Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Mafia 3 at 2K. Its first game was the isometric third-person Weird West in 2022, which also featured a striking art style and immersive sim qualities.
WolfEye is made up of many ex-Arkane developers, including some that were hired following Arkane Austin’s closure by Microsoft earlier this year. This new game won’t exactly be a new “Arkane” immersive sim, but it’s close enough to appease people who mourned the loss of the studio following the failure of Redfall.
