Arkane Studios President Announces Departure

The Prey and Dishonored director is stepping down to "reflect on what is important."

By Jonathon Dornbush

Raphael Colantonio, president of Dishonored and Prey developer Arkane Studios, has announced he is stepping down from his position "to spend some time with my son and reflect on what is important to me and my future."

Colantonio made the announcement in a post on Bethesda Softworks's website.

"The last 18 years have been an amazing adventure - from starting Arkane in 1999, to making our first game, Arx Fatalis, to joining ZeniMax Media in 2010 and releasing the Dishonored series and Prey to critical acclaim - it is time for me to step out to spend some time with my son and reflect on what is important to me and my future," Colantonio wrote.

Colantonio explained that his co-director on the original Dishonored and director of Dishonored 2, Harvey Smith, will oversee the Austin-based team while Colantonio "will be around for as long as necessary to ensure a smooth transition to the new management team in Lyon."

"I’ve lived many magical moments. I’ve also been through the hard times. But, I can say that joining ZeniMax took things to the next level and gave Arkane the opportunity to emerge as a world-class studio. ZenIMax enabled us to make the best games that we’ve ever made. And I know there is even more to come," Colantonio wrote.

Arkane most recently released Prey, the top-selling game in May of this year that saw Arkane put a new spin on the franchise first established by Human Head Studios in 2006. IGN gave Prey an 8, saying "Prey’s curious alternate-history universe, intriguing sidequests, hidden threats, and detailed environmental storytelling make Talos I a joy to explore."

Last year saw the release of Arkane's Dishonored 2, which IGN gave a 9.3 in our review, calling it "a remarkable experience." Arkane revealed a standalone story expansion to the series' world, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, at E3 2017.

"I’d like to thank the Arkane fans for their passion and support. I proudly join them as Arkane Studios' biggest champion, and I look forward to playing the extraordinary new games the studio is working on," Colantonio said in the close of his announcement.

Jonathon Dornbush is an Associate Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

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