Like many PC gamers across the world, I was appalled when I heard about the shuttering of Arkane Austin by Microsoft. Despite the studio's recent woe with Redfall, a game described by some commentators as one where 'executives ruined everything', I'd presumed that its previously stellar track record and new ownership by a financial juggernaut would insulate it from the tsunami of gaming industry job losses we've witnessed over the last year.
But no, Arkane Austin, the studio that made the immersive sim masterpiece that is Prey, as well as contributed to probably my favourite gaming series of the past 15 years, Dishonored, is now gone, leaving nothing but a trail of 'fury and heartbreak' throughout the gaming community. Personally, I feel much of that discontentment comes from the powerlessness of being unable to do anything to rectify this.
