Dishonored wouldn't exist without failed Thief 4, Blade Runner pitches
Dishonored was inspired by Arkane Studios' unsuccessful pitches for Thief 4 and a Blade Runner game. The studio's co-directors revealed that these projects led to the creation of Dishonored after Bethesda could not secure the rights for either IP. Ultimately, Dishonored evolved into a distinct game that became a classic in the stealth genre.
- ▪Arkane Studios pitched for Thief 4 and a Blade Runner game before creating Dishonored.
- ▪Bethesda approached Arkane with the opportunity to work on these franchises, but could not secure the rights.
- ▪Despite the initial setbacks, Bethesda encouraged Arkane to continue developing their ideas, leading to the creation of Dishonored.
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Follow Followed Like Thread Link copied to clipboard Add us on By Tomas Franzese Published May 23, 2026, 1:03 PM EDT News Dishonored was preceded and inspired by Arkane Studios' pitches for Thief 4 and a Blade Runner game that never came to be { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": "1", "name": "Home", "item": "https://www.polygon.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position":"2", "name": "News", "item": "https://www.polygon.com/news/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position":"3", "name": "Dishonored wouldn't exist without failed Thief 4, Blade Runner pitches from Arkane", "item": "https://www.polygon.com/dishonored-origins-thief-4-blade-runner-pitches/" } ] } Related Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees is finally…
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