Arkane Austin was working on updates for Redfall hours before Microsoft confirmed it was closing down the studio.
According to reports, Arkane Austin had been developing an offline mode for the first-person shooter as well as working on Redfall‘s Hero DLC, which had been sold as part of the £80 ($100) Bite Back edition. The studio had been hoping to finally launch the DLC this Halloween.
IGN sources claim the studio had been expecting to release an offline mode for the “always online” Redfall later this month, a feature fans had been requesting since before the game had even launched. As part of an internal memo, head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty promised that while development would stop on future Redfall updates, the game would remain online.
However, if servers are ever taken offline, Redfall will become unavailable to play. Booty also said the company would “make good” offers to those that had pre-purchased the Hero DLC.
Fans on social media have also found evidence that Arkane Austin was still updating Redfall hours before it was announced the studio would be closing.
Redfall’s DLC was being worked on 5 hours ago pic.twitter.com/ses9IvakXh
— JuiceHead (@JuiceHead33) May 7, 2024
Yesterday (May 7), Microsoft confirmed Arkane Austin would be closing alongside Hi-Fi Rush developers Tango Gameworks and Alpha Dog Games, the creator of mobile game Mighty Doom. Microsoft said these closures were happening to allow Bethesda to focus on its “portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds.”
Redfall was met with negative reviews upon launch, with Xbox head Phil Spencer admitting the company had “let a lot of people down”. However, he also confirmed that Bethesda and Arkane remain “absolutely” committed to supporting Redfall going forward, and he would “totally bet on [Arkane] making another great game”.
In September, Bethesda‘s head of global publishing Pete Hines added: “We’re going to get [Redfall] to be a good game because we know, as a first-party studio, Game Pass lives forever.”
“These changes are not a reflection of the creativity and skill of the talented individuals at these teams or the risks they took to try new things,” explained Booty yesterday. “We are making these tough decisions to create capacity to increase investment in other parts of our portfolio and focus on our priority games.”
In other news, Sega has confirmed it will be bringing Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance to Download Festival 2024 with a number of gaming stations being used to create an immersive experience.