Support NeoGAF

[Dabaus]

Arkane Lyon Studio Director Leaving After 16 Years of Leadership | TechRaptor

Arkane Lyon Studio Director Romuald Capron is leaving the company after nearly 17 years, less than a month after the launch of its new FPS Deathloop.

techraptor.net

"Last week was very special for me as these were my last days at Arkane and Zenimax as Studio Director," read the announcement on Capron's LinkedIn page.

"After more than 16 years of helping Arkane Studios Lyon to grow and become the world-class AAA studio it is today, this was a very hard decision to make. But I was feeling the need to try something new and also have a bit more time for me and my family."

Capron goes on to say that he's keen to continue his work in the industry, teasing that he may have something new in the works. It's not yet clear who will replace Capron in his roles as Studio Director and Chief Operating Officer.

 

[Sticks]

 

[AJUMP23]

Good for this person. Take the money and relax.

 

[ViolentP]

High quality OP.

 

[FunkMiller]

Maybe he wants to stay independent.

 

[Lognor]

He was there close to 20 years. Not surprising. I guess it is surprising when someone works at one place for that long. Good for him.

 

[Dabaus]

High quality OP.

Thank you for your contribution.

 

[Shanomatic]

Do we need a thread every time someone leaves a studio? These games involve 100s of people at all levels of the hierarchy; one person, hell a dozen people leaving really shouldn't be news, especially in an industry as fluid as gaming.

Then again who am I kidding; it's very clear where you want this discussion to go.

 

[elliot5]

Arkane Lyon Studio Director*

Seems a bit misleading to say HEAD OF ARKANE leaves. There's two studios. A Studio Director leaving isn't the end of the world. It's ok. There's no reason to spread FUD and low effort bait posts. If Lyon's next game is a disappointment then you can start up some narrative and try linking it back to this event.

 

[Coloress_Kafka]

Ubisoft is still the biggest studio in France right?? They probably poached him after Deathloop got such good reviews.

 

[Fake]

Leavingloop.

 

[ethomaz]

Seems like he just wanted to delivery Deathloop after the acquisition.

Job done… I appreciate that because some will left before finish their projects.

 

[Punished Miku]

"I'd probably retire too after Deathloop. Once you put out 10/10 perfection, it's best to just leave on a high note. No point in trying to surpass what can never be improved upon. "
- IGN journalist somewhere, probably

 

[Barlow]

How dare he leave after 16 years!

 

[bender]

Marx Natalis Kickstarter incoming.

 

[Bragr]

 

[GHG]

But in all seriousness if he's leaving to go direct more immersive sim games then I'm all for it.

 

[Punished Miku]

But in all seriousness if he's leaving to go direct more immersive sim games then I'm all for it.

I'd certainly take more of that over what I've seen so far of Redfall.

My hope is that Bethesda was putting pressure on them to make something more profitable and that's why they started Redfall prior to the acquisition. And now with MS money, they can safely return to what they want to do. 100% speculation on my part though.

 

[Windle Poons]

Leavingloop.

Leftloop.

 

[TransTrender]

Ubisoft is still the biggest studio in France right?? They probably poached him after Deathloop got such good reviews.

If that were the case then he would be entering a real life deathloop where he's making the same game over and over, every day, forever...

 

[Paasei]

Wish him the best of luck with his next job. He was part of one of my all time favorite studios. God I love their games.

 

[ResilientBanana]

Maybe he wants to stay independent.

He was at a company owned by Bethesda, which doesn't scream independence.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

So the director of Prey left after it was released, and now the director of Deathloop left after it was released.

 

[Dr. Suchong]

Fruitloop?
Joking aside, good luck

 

[Notabueno]

So the director of Prey left after it was released, and now the director of Deathloop left after it was released.

WTF are you talking about, Romuald Capron was the head of studio not the director of Deathloop

 

[a multicultural team of v]

WTF are you talking about, Romuald Capron was the head of studio not the director of Deathloop

Oh right, I read the title and somehow only read Deathloop, not the Arkane part. That is even worse though lol, I know people move around all the time in the industry but it's strange that their last two games each had someone key leave right after.

 

[elliot5]

Oh right, I read the title and somehow only read Deathloop, not the Arkane part. That is even worse though lol, I know people move around all the time in the industry but it's strange that their last two games each had someone key leave right after.

Typically after you ship a project that's when you would want to leave. You get your credits, your bonuses, whatever, and then move on.

 

[Magnific0giganticus]

 

[Heisenberg007]

I appreciate the fact that he completed Deathloop before leaving and didn't leave a project in the middle. Good luck to him for future endeavors.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

I imagine he's got something in the pipeline. Job well done on Deathloop, good sir.

 

[GymWolf]

Maybe he is gonna join raphael colantonio at wolfeye studios to work on other immersive sims.

 

[Wildebeest]

Weren't sales for Deathloop lower than Dishonoured or Prey? And Prey was considered a disaster in sales.

 

[MiguelItUp]

I wonder where he'll end up. Honestly he probably already had that feather in his hat, but didn't want to make a move until Deathloop released. I wouldn't say it's something too uncommon, especially after 16 years.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

Sony didn't do the guy any favors with their lackluster promotion. I wouldn't have even heard about Deathloop if I hadn't seen it mentioned in an obscure Czech tech periodical.

 

[Iced Arcade]

role might have been to much for him, he was only a studio director since April 2019. (that's not taking away anything from him, those job can be high stress)

 

[MadPanda]

Do we need a thread every time someone leaves a studio? These games involve 100s of people at all levels of the hierarchy; one person, hell a dozen people leaving really shouldn't be news, especially in an industry as fluid as gaming.

Then again who am I kidding; it's very clear where you want this discussion to go.

Exactly. If this were some non Microsoft owned studio no one would care, but this way it's very important and telling.

 

[El Pistolero]

Well, yeah, people come and go.

 

[kuncol02]

But in all seriousness if he's leaving to go direct more immersive sim games then I'm all for it.

He was STUDIO DIRECTOR. He was running studio not making games, it's mostly administrative position.
Deathloop was directed by Dinga Bakaba.

 

[REDRZA MWS]

Can someone help me find this on game pass for PC? I looked through, selected EA PLAy (comes with game pass ultimate), and under Gagne trials or nowhere else do i see the beta. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[elliot5]

Can someone help me find this on game pass for PC? I looked through, selected EA PLAy (comes with game pass ultimate), and under Gagne trials or nowhere else do i see the beta. Any help would be appreciated!

wrong thread but launch the EA Desktop app through the Xbox app and select Browse on the left side > select Battlefield 2042

 

[Punished Miku]

Can someone help me find this on game pass for PC? I looked through, selected EA PLAy (comes with game pass ultimate), and under Gagne trials or nowhere else do i see the beta. Any help would be appreciated!

Are you even in the right thread? You're getting really lost dude lol.

Are you safe to get home?

 

[killatopak]

Sony didn't do the guy any favors with their lackluster promotion. I wouldn't have even heard about Deathloop if I hadn't seen it mentioned in an obscure Czech tech periodical.

What?

Have you not seen any Sony press? It actually became a meme because every Sony conference showed deathloop.

 

[Derktron]

Can someone help me find this on game pass for PC? I looked through, selected EA PLAy (comes with game pass ultimate), and under Gagne trials or nowhere else do i see the beta. Any help would be appreciated!

Sad News to tell you but as of right now the game is not on PC with Gamepass it's exclusive to PlayStation as of right now till next year or so. It's on PC but not on Gamepass yet.

 

[SenjutsuSage]

Job well done, and best of luck in all his future endeavors!

 

[Fbh]

Seems reasonable to maybe want something else after 16 years at the studio. And can't blame him if he is looking for something a bit less time consuming.

Sony didn't do the guy any favors with their lackluster promotion. I wouldn't have even heard about Deathloop if I hadn't seen it mentioned in an obscure Czech tech periodical.

Sony showed the game at basically every event they had since it got announced, they even made a state of play specifically for Deathloop. People around here were actually commenting about being tired of Sony showing it so often.

Also don't forget that Sony just got a timed exclusive deal. The game was still published by Bethesda so it was up to them to spend more on marketing if you wanted to see billboards or TV commercials

 

[jakinov]

Do we need a thread every time someone leaves a studio? These games involve 100s of people at all levels of the hierarchy; one person, hell a dozen people leaving really shouldn't be news, especially in an industry as fluid as gaming.

Then again who am I kidding; it's very clear where you want this discussion to go.

This one has more reason for existing than 99% of the other threads. I've shared the same sentiment in other threads. Especially when the job title of the person leaving has "senior" in it. People don't understand that newbies are called Juniors and Seniors are just people with usually several years of experience. At least this thread is about the head of the studio.

 

[DevilHunterX0]

What? No "Another one" gif?

 

[RiccochetJ]

I change jobs every 3 years or so. Mostly because that's the best way to get any sort of decent pay increase. Staying at one company for 16 years seems unfathomable to me even if you are an executive or in a leadership role.

 

[Dragon_Rocks]

What?

Have you not seen any Sony press? It actually became a meme because every Sony conference showed deathloop.

Sony showed the game at basically every event they had since it got announced, they even made a state of play specifically for Deathloop. People around here were actually commenting about being tired of Sony showing it so often.

Also don't forget that Sony just got a timed exclusive deal. The game was still published by Bethesda so it was up to them to spend more on marketing if you wanted to see billboards or TV commercials

Your sarcasm detector is broken.

 

[Hugare]

Druckman yet again

The guy is a monster