Arkane outed, adds US studio

Arx Fatalis creators, Lyon, France-based Arkane Studios, has been sighted in Austin, Texas. Enthusiast site FiringSquad outed the long-standing plans of Arkane CEO and creative director Raphael Colantinio to seek funding and land on US shores.

Recently, Colantinio has been a regular on the game conference circuit, quietly talking up his designs to open a satellite studio.

Arkane was founded in 1999 and made early waves with its medieval-fantasy role-playing game Arx Fatalis. The PC title was picked up by Jowood as its publisher; the Xbox version was later published by DreamCatcher.

Currently, the studio is creating Dark Messiah of Might and Magic with Ubisoft as its publishing partner. The game, due later this year, is built on Valve's Source engine.