Bethesda's Dishonored is official - big talent on board

By Andy Robinson for computerandvideogames.com

Bethesda's set to unveil its new Xbox 360, PS3 and PC "first-person stealth/action adventure" game in the latest issue of US retailer mag Game Informer.

Developed by Arkane Studios (Arx Fatalis, Dark Messiah of Might & Magic), due out in 2012 and first rumoured last week, Dishonored is described as "a game about assassination where you don't have to kill anyone."

It's "a game about infiltration where you can set up traps and slaughter the entire garrison of an aristocrat's mansion rather than sneak in," GI continues. "It's a game about brutal violence where you can slip in and out of a fortified barracks with nobody ever knowing you were there.

"It's a game about morality and player choice where the world you create is based on your actions, not navigating conversation trees.

"Dishonored is a game we can't wait to tell you more about."

However, from a distance the most exciting thing about the steampunk-enthused title at the moment is the talent behind it; Arkane founder Raf Colantonio teams with Deus Ex lead designer Harvey Smith as co-creative director, while Viktor Antonov, the man who designed Half-Life 2's iconic City 17, is lending his talents to Dishonored's world.

Arkane's last title, the decent first-person brawler Dark Messiah of Might & Magic, ultimately suffered from a lack of publisher support.

Bethesda Softworks, which acquired the studio late last year, says it believes in the developer's vision and is giving it all the time, money, and development help it needs - including "regular meetings with guys like The Elder Scrolls' Todd Howard".

Exciting stuff. We'll let you know as soon as proper details hit the internet waves...