Viktor Antonov, the Bulgarian artist who served as art director on both Half-Life 2 and Dishonored, has died at the age of 52. The news comes by way of some of Antonov’s former colleagues in the industry, who also shared their thoughts on Antonov’s legacy as an artist.
Antonov contributed his art to films and dozens of videogames, getting his start with Kingpin and Redneck Rampage studio Xatrix Entertainment (also known as Gray Matter). Antonov’s defining work in videogames came with Half-Life 2 and Dishonored, serving as art lead on both games. Antonov has been credited with inventing both the Combine and City 17’s iconic visual identities. Half-Life 2’s central city-sized prison consisted of faded 19th century grandeur and 20th century Eastern Bloc tenements under attack by the invasive, angular, alien designs of the Combine, their otherworldly creations latching onto the human architecture underneath like tumors.
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Antonov drew on similar ideas in the creation of Dishonored’s Dunwall, with his distinctive, invasive alien blue-metal flourishes here showing the encroachment of a burgeoning, otherworldly industrial revolution as opposed to an extra-dimensional invasion. Instead of City 17’s post-Soviet base layer, Dunwall called to mind the cities of Great Britain in the 19th century, particularly London and Edinburgh.
The news of Antonov’s passing was first publicly shared by former Valve writer Marc Laidlaw in a since-deleted or expired Instagram story, preserved in screenshot form here by user ETPC on Bluesky. “I didn’t want to say much until I felt it was confirmed,” Laidlaw wrote, “but I learned today that Viktor Antonov, our visionary art lead on Half-Life 2, has died. I don’t have details, just sadness. Brilliant and original. Made everything better.”
Former Bethesda marketing head Pete Hines praised Antonov’s impact via Twitter, writing, “Thanks for all the hours of joy you gave us, Viktor, you’ll be missed.” Arkane and WolfEye Studios founder Raphaël Colantonio responded to Antonov’s passing on Bluesky: “I wish I told you how much admiration I had for you, but we get caught in our lives until a surprise like this hits us,” Colantonio wrote. “You were instrumental to the success of Arkane Studios and an inspiration to many of us, also a friend with whom I have many fond memories.”
Deus Ex lead designer and Dishonored creative director Harvey Smith responded to Colantonio with his own remembrance of Antonov. “Good memories of travel together with both of you; London, Dallas, Lyon,” Smith wrote. “All this about impact and talent is true, but I will also always remember how much he made me laugh, with his dry, devastating wit, RIP.”
Recently, Antonov’s words were the first we heard in Noclip’s incredible Half-Life 2 20th anniversary documentary, with the artist describing the process of collecting reference images from Paris’ Austerlitz train station to create Half-Life 2’s groundbreaking introductory sequence. “I always had been doing since my childhood a bit of urban exploration,” Antonov said in the documentary. “So I love to break through a window of an abandoned factory or building or train station. That’s one of my hobbies, or used to be. What’s on the roofs of buildings? What’s in an abandoned building’s cellar? And a factory? We did a lot of work on this.”
