"Dishonored 2 Receives Unexpected Update 9 Years Post-Launch"

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 games from the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 era, has been surprisingly updated out of nowhere. Released in late 2016, the sequel to the beloved 2012 original introduces a new playable character, Emily Kaldwin. The game is renowned for its standout missions, such as The Clockwork Mansion and A Crack in the Slab, which impressed players with their innovative gameplay mechanics and detailed environments.

Arkane Lyon, the developer behind Dishonored 2, later gained further recognition with the release of Deathloop in 2021. Meanwhile, its sister studio, Arkane Austin, faced closure in 2024 as part of broader Xbox studio shutdowns that also affected Roundhouse Studios, Alpha Dog Games, and Tango Gameworks, though Tango was later revived by Korean publisher Krafton. Arkane Austin was responsible for the first Dishonored, the 2017 sci-fi adventure Prey, and the 2023 co-op looter shooter Redfall, which received poor reviews. Fortunately, Arkane Lyon continues to operate and is currently focused on developing Marvel's Blade in collaboration with Marvel Games.

Out of the blue, Dishonored 2 fans noticed that the game received a small update across Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam. This patch appears to be focused on minor bug fixes, with SteamDB indicating updates to the game's language depots. The update is only 230MB, but on Xbox, it necessitates a full reinstallation of the 40GB game.

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

The exact purpose of this unexpected update to Dishonored 2 remains unclear, leaving many fans disappointed as it does not include the much-anticipated performance boost. While other Arkane titles can run at 60 FPS on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, Dishonored 2 remains locked at 30 FPS. Even the original Dishonored and the standalone spinoff, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, released in 2017, benefit from performance enhancements on these consoles. There's speculation that Arkane Lyon might release a 60 FPS patch for Dishonored 2's tenth anniversary in 2026, though fans might find the wait too long for such an update.

The prospect of a third mainline Dishonored game seems distant, especially with the closure of Arkane Austin, which would significantly impact the production timeline of future Arkane titles. Currently, Arkane Lyon is working on the third-person Marvel's Blade game, though no release date has been announced yet.