Hello Pezus' best avatar. ;-P

This is a day one for me and that is the first time since last year I can say it to be true. Being a great looking new IP means they deserve my money. Halo 1,001 is cool and all, but hot damn we need fresh ideas in this industry.

Without a doubt you will be getting Dishonored 2+3 within the next 3 to 4 years.

no. If this game makes profit then we might a sequel in 3 to 4 years. But certainly not a yearly release

This game will make profit and - my predition - will get a sequel in 2014 at the latest.

I just checked some websites (i.e. not only English speaking, but also German sites couldn't wait to post their reviews as soon as the embargo ended, as GER sites tend to still be a bit more PC-centric their ratings are a tad lower) and realized that Dishonored is one of those rare and strange cases where all western reviewers and quite a few gamers couldn't wait to get their hands on it as if there was a secret pact (I'm not judging, just observing). Which means the (imo by a few reviewers suddenly and retrospectively overrated) developer Arkane Studios did something very right. I'm just not sure what exactly it is. In the past neither the cyberpunk setting nor the reportedly Thief-like gameplay garantueed as much attention and success as this game will get. It may also have to do with the fact that some reviewers romanticize co-designer Harvey Smith (ex-Origin Systems, ex-Ion Storm) into a industry legend just because he was part of the System Shock/Deus Ex/Thief 3 development teams. Anyway, with review round-ups already popping up everywhere, with 24 reviews already posted on gamerankings, it is clear that a new franchise was born today. It could be a big one.

Then again they have been working on the game (on and off as they did work for hire stuff to keep the lights on) for almost 6 years now, Arkane is a small studio and the next game will probably be targeting next gen consoles at this point. A sequel may make it in time for holiday 2014 but I think sometime in 2015 is more likely TBH, that would still be less than the 4 years it took them to go from Arx Fatalis to Dark Messiah. 

High ratings and internet hype doesn't really mean much if the general gaming public don't latch onto it anyway. 

Also the setting is steampunk(ish) not cyberpunk, cyberpunk is generally about computers, the internet and cyborgs etc.

Ah yes, steampunk, of course. I sometimes confuse the two as I like both and they are pretty much the same to me.

Maybe that's the main reasons why this game gets so much attention:
- The setting which probably attracts Bioshock/Deus Ex/System Shock fans.
- The (optional?) stealth gameplay which probably attracts Thief/Splinter Cell/Metal Gear Solid fans alike.
Despite its influences It seems to feel fresh and like a game many people waited for, comparable in that regard to Bioshock and Assassin's Creed in 2007.

BTW: New franchises often start with a game that's been in development for years by a comparably small team. That's nothing new. Depending on sales and the decisions made by Bethesda, a sequel could easily be done within two years. It could become Bethesda's Assassin's Creed with a huge team put behind it and rather quick sequels/spinoffs. Time will tell.

They probably could turn it arround in 2 years but I think that would be quite a streatch for the team. Especially as they seem to like lots of itterative game design. Bethesda could give them the money to staff up into a full AAA team tho. I just think 2.5-3 years is a more realistic dev cycle for this kind of game TBH. 

I think a lot of it's popularity is due largely too 2 major factors beyond the game it's self.

The first is the recent trend in the "hardcore gaming" community to complain that everything is a sequel and that there are no new IPs anymore, especially with the recent comments from that EA producer that it's a bad time to launch new IPs. Dishonored is seen as bucking the trend and be something drastically different to the annual sequel churn. Especially in the reviewer community where they play most of the games that come out, something that isn't another military shooter is seen as a breath of fresh air. The advertising arround the game seems to have premoted the idea that it is something special being a new IP and I have seen it mentioned in many interviews etc. Everyone loves an underdog as they say and Dishonored has been perfectly positioned to take advantage of the climate where new IPs are seen as something special and daring.

The seccond is that what was old is new again. In recent years there has been a big trend for the return of retro gaming. Early games are now old enough that older gamers want to relive their nostalgic childhood gaming memories. This showed up in the influx of retro platformers from the indie scene, 8Bit style getting big etc. Now that has moved on to some of the early PC stuff, suddenly (thanks to kickstarter) point & click is suddenly in the (gaming) public eye again (I know they never really went away, especially in Euroupe, but suddenly there is a lot more attention on them) and so are oldschool PC WRPGs with the likes of Wateland 2, Project Eternity etc. I think a lot of reviews are starting to get to the age where the early 3D stuff like Theif and Deus Ex are what a lot of them remember from the good old days, I think that helped out Deus Ex: Human Revolution as well. Dishonored marketing has also pushed the fact that they are bringing back the oldschool freedom and design philosophy of those early games and has played off the fact that have team members that worked on those games. Nostalgia is a powerful thing.

great to hear can't wait to play.

I am a big Deus Ex/Thief/Bioshock fan so this game looks like its made for me but sadly, the way they handled the pre order bonusses put me way off. I might get the GOTY version or grab it in a Steam sale.

Looks like Bioshock and The Darkness had a baby.