To call Redfall a high profile flop would be a bit of an understatement. Though Microsoft says Arkane’s open world vampire shooter has been played by “millions” since its launch, the game has, by most metrics, been bit of a disaster, having been met with widespread negative reception from critics and players at launch, even leading to an apology from Xbox boss Phil Spencer.
If, however, you harboured concerns over the future of Arkane Austin, the Arkane Studios team that developed the game- well, you can wash those concerns away. For now, at least.
Speaking to Axios in a recent interview, when asked if Arkane Austin would keep its doors open in the wake of Redfall’s disastrous launch, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty said, “That is the plan right now. They are hard at work on updates and continued content for Redfall.”
The “right now” may set off alarm bells for some, but it’s important to focus on the “Arkane Austin isn’t shutting down” bit, since that’s the gist of what Booty is saying here.
Recent reports have shed new light on Redfall’s troubled development, which suffered from lack of direction behind-the-scenes and significant attrition in the studio’s workforce. In fact, when Microsoft purchased Arkane’s parent company ZeniMax, some at the studio were hoping that their new parent company would come in and either cancel or reboot the project. Microsoft choosing to take a hands-off approach may not have been the best course of action, in the end.
Prior to Redfall’s launch, Arkane said the game would be the studio’s “most supported game post-launch”, though it remains to be seen how those plans may have been impacted by the shooter’s launch woes.
Redfall is available on Xbox Series X/S and PC. Read our review through here.