Arkane Studios developers have responded to false claims made online about the Dishonored franchise's Mark of the Outsider symbol serving as a communist emblem. Amid the attempted insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, Trump supporters insisted Antifa ( members actually led the charge. Some tried supporting this claim by sharing a photo of one of the insurrectionists, who donned what they claimed to be a communist symbol as a tattoo. Except it isn't. The tattoo in question is instead of the aforementioned Mark of the Outsider from Dishonored, a Bethesda-published immersive sim developed by Arkane.
One tweet in particular seemed to have gone viral, picking up plenty of steam before the original poster deleted it from their account. Numerous Trump supporters flocked to the replies in agreement that the tattoo was supposedly connected to far-left ideologies and political interests. (Strangely, none of them bothered to Google or research the symbol's origin for themselves.) It didn't take long for Arkane developers like Harvey Smith to be alerted to the misconception.
According to PlayStation LifeStyle, Anna Megill, a credited writer on Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, responded to the since-removed tweet by stating, "This hurts my heart." Franchise creative director Harvey Smith replied to the same tweet with, "I assure you, it’s not," making it clear the Dishonored imagery is in no way associated with either communism or the far-right Capitol stormers.
While the misconception about the tattoo proves that too many people aren't willing to conduct independent research before drawing drastic conclusions, it shines light on another issue that continues to plague popular culture. Fans rarely take the time to truly understand what it is they support. Pictured above is a Trump supporter who stormed the US Capitol to disrupt Congress as they convened to ensure a smooth transition of power, an age-old democratic ritual. Meanwhile, the character who dons the Mark of the Outsider in Dishonored secretly moves about the city to unseat a regime that illegally took power after murdering the city's previous monarch. Let's file this one in with players and developers who want games separated from politics, all while enjoying or benefiting from political games and real-world politics.
Presently, Dishonored is on a bit of a hiatus. The crew at Arkane Lyon is currently hard at work on a brand-new IP, Deathloop, which will come to PC and PlayStation 5 as a timed console exclusive in a few months. Meanwhile, Harvey Smith has his hands full with something else entirely. The Dishonored co-creator recently teased that he and other Dishonored and Prey developers are producing a new title at Arkane Austin. Whether or not this particular game is another original IP or an awaited sequel remains to be seen, but a recent job listing at Arkane suggests there could be online gameplay involved in whatever the new game may be.
Source: PlayStation LifeStyle