Arkane Studios released on Tuesday the first official trailer for its next journey in the world of steam-punk, the upcoming stealth and action game Dishonored, which can be found here. According to a feature published by Game Informer in 2011, the world of Dishonored will feature similarities with our own reality but also greatly differ through fictional elements that seem more Orwellian.

As the trailer opens, the main character, Corvo, is locked up in a dungeon for assassinating an empress he presumably didn’t kill. The voices of an ambiguous past echo in his head. Before long, a mysterious and arrogant man emerges from the darkness, granting him a peculiar “gift”, and thus begins a scene of break-neck action and fighting. The new footage is entirely pre-rendered, although Gamespot released an interview in March showcasing some impressive in-game graphics.

Dishonored, which has the privilege of being published by none other than Bethesda, is slated for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC sometime in 2012.