This is a nice surprise. Arkane Studios co-founder Raphael Colantonio has returned from retirement and together with former Arkane Executive Producer Julien Roby, the two are opening a new studio.
Called WolfEye Studios, the development team is eschewing realistic graphics for games with deeper gameplay possibilities and a simulation that reacts to your interactions. Which sounds like what the two did at Arkane: immersive sims.
An interview with Gamesindustry.biz explains the developers’ philosophy on adapting stylised art style rather than realistic aesthetic. What it boils down to is that AAA games spend most of the technicalities on the graphics, but not in other aspects of a game, like gameplay complexity. With WolfEye Studios, they wanted to devote those resources, not just for graphics, but not denying that graphics are still important in games, of course.
WolfEye Studios already has a game being worked on and will be revealed at The Game Awards 2019.
If their next game fits under the loose immersive sim umbrella but with a bolder look, that sounds promising already. Immersive sims (or games with complex systemic gameplay) are on a decline these days but we would love to see it making another wave of comeback.