"Dishonored 2 Receives Unexpected Update After 9 Years"

Summary

• Dishonored 2 unexpectedly received a small update for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
• The patch is quite small and appears to include bug fixes and language updates.
• Arkane Lyon is currently working on Marvel's Blade.

Dishonored 2, one of the most acclaimed Bethesda titles from the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 era, has unexpectedly received a new update across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms. Released at the end of 2016, Dishonored 2 builds on the success of its 2012 predecessor by introducing a new playable character, Emily Kaldwin. The game's standout missions, such as The Clockwork Mansion and A Crack in the Slab, are celebrated for their innovative gameplay and detailed settings.

Arkane Lyon, the developer behind Dishonored 2, continued to make a significant impact with 2021's Deathloop. However, its sister studio, Arkane Austin, which developed the original Dishonored, 2017's Prey, and 2023's Redfall, was unfortunately closed in 2024 as part of Xbox's studio closures. This also affected other teams like Roundhouse Studios, Alpha Dog Games, and Tango Gameworks, although Tango was later revived by Korean publisher Krafton. Fortunately, Arkane Lyon remains operational and is currently focused on developing Marvel's Blade in partnership with Marvel Games.

Out of the blue, fans discovered that Dishonored 2 had received a minor update on Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam. This update, weighing just 230MB, seems to focus on small bug fixes and language updates, according to SteamDB. However, on Xbox, the update requires reinstalling the entire 40GB game.

Dishonored 2 Receives a Surprise New Update, but Not a 60 FPS Mode

The exact purpose of this unexpected update for Dishonored 2 remains unclear, and many fans are disappointed that it doesn't include the much-anticipated performance boost to 60 FPS. Unlike other Arkane titles that can run at 60 FPS on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, Dishonored 2 is still capped at 30 FPS. Even the original Dishonored and the standalone expansion Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, released in 2017, benefit from performance enhancements on newer consoles. Some speculate that Arkane Lyon might be planning a 60 FPS update for Dishonored 2's tenth anniversary in 2026, though waiting that long for such an update might not satisfy fans.

While many in the Arkane community are eager for a third mainline Dishonored game, the closure of Arkane Austin suggests that any new entry could be years away, if it happens at all. Currently, Arkane Lyon is fully engaged in developing the third-person action game Marvel's Blade, which has yet to receive a release date.