Dishonored – Deathloop Connection Confirmed

While not directly connected to the world of role-playing games, this article on Bethesda’s website directs us to a recent episode of the Official Xbox Podcast where Arkane’s developers confirm that their recent roguelite shooter Deathloop is actually somewhat of a sequel to their Dishonored series. We also get a handy timeline of events connecting the two games.

Check it out:

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of Dishonored Arkane Studios’ Dinga Bakaba (Studio Director, Arkane Lyon) and Harvey Smith (Co-Creative Director/Studio Director, Arkane Austin) joined Jeff Rubenstein on the Official Xbox Podcast to formally confirm what some eagle-eyed Dishonored fans may have discovered on their own: DEATHLOOP and Dishonored are set in the same world.

“It was nice to see the community pick up all the little clues that we did sprinkle everywhere that yes, indeed we envisioned DEATHLOOP to be happening in the future after Death of the Outsider,” says Bakaba. “So after Death of the Outsider, the Outsider is not in function anymore after that, clearly, and we always wondered about what would happen after that. As we were making DEATHLOOP we said, ‘Hey, that could be one of the things that could happen after that.’ So we have a certain timeline to link that.”

Watch the full discussion here and read on for the timeline that takes us from the Empire of the Isles to the shores of Blackreef.

DEATHLOOP is out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, and is also available for PlayStation Plus (Extra and Premium) and Xbox Game Pass (console and PC) subscribers.

Just another reminder that there will be DEATHLOOP spoilers below. Last chance to look away.

FROM DISHONORED TO DEATHLOOP – A TIMELINE OF EVENTS

• Before Death of the Outsider – A small Tyvian fishing village is established on the remote northern island of Blackreef.
• Following Death of the Outsider – The decline of the Empire of the Isles. Tyvia becomes a sovereign state and engages in wars with other states. Meanwhile, Blackreef becomes the subject of folklore legends, as strange happenings multiply on the island – persons lost in time, ghostly voices from the past, magical anomalies, etc.
• 1930s – The Army of the Motherland (Tyvian army) conducts experimentation on Blackreef under the codename Operation Horizon to study the source of the strange occurrences on the island – the so-called “anomaly.”
  • Bonus Clue: When talking about the Anomaly in DEATHLOOP, Egor Serling says, “Long ago, the Isle of Blackreef experienced a cataclysmic event which tore the fabric of space and time.” The cataclysmic event he’s referring to is the death of the Outsider.
• 1938 – Colt Vahn flies an experimental rocket craft into the Anomaly and vanishes from “our” reality. He is trapped in his own personal timeloop for roughly 17 years.
• 1955 – Colt finally emerges from the timeloop and finds the island deserted. He is able to repair a plane and make it back to the mainland, where no one believes his story. He is captured and institutionalized.
• Late 1950s – The AEON Program is established by Harriet Morse, Egor Serling and Wenjie Evans, with the aim to investigate the Anomaly on Blackreef. Egor finds Colt in the asylum and secures his release.
• Early 1960s – A major social/economic crisis looms in the former Empire. A total collapse of civilization is believed to be plausible.
• 1960 – Colt leads Egor to Blackreef, where they uncover what’s left of Operation Horizon. Wenjie harnesses the potential of the Anomaly, creating Trinkets, Slabs and the equipment necessary to launch a controlled timeloop. The AEON Program becomes officially focused on controlling the timeloop and preserving humanity’s brightest hope for the uncertain future.
• 1963 – The AEON timeloop is launched on Blackreef.
  • Bonus Clue: The dueling pistols Colt and Julianna use during their final confrontation are described as using “original oil cartridges,” meaning whale oil. These are the same pistols the guards use in Dishonored 2.