Before Arkane Austin closed, the now-abandoned Redfall game had a support roadmap. They were actively working on the content before Microsoft stopped all development and closed the studio. In particular, developers worked on DLC and updates for the game.
The previously canceled Hero Pass content, which was supposed to add two new characters to the cooperative vampire shooter, was scheduled for this Halloween. In an email about the layoffs sent to employees on May 7, Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, cited a reprioritization of titles and resources as reasons for the cuts. The email also confirms that Redfall servers will remain online.
«The game and its servers will remain online for players to enjoy, and we will provide lucrative offers to players who have purchased the Hero DLC» — said Buti.
However, there was concern that Redfall, which requires a constant network connection, would stop running. Back in March of last year, on the eve of Redfall’s release, Arkane Austin announced that it was working on a patch that would remove Redfall’s network requirement.
However, the offline mode was not implemented. Redfall’s May update would have added the ability to play offline, which would have helped support the game in the future. Unfortunately for players, it will never see the light of day.
Some fans had already paid $100 for the exclusive Xbox edition of Bite Back, which included the promised Hero DLC, and were also hoping to get the update through Game Pass. Arkane Austin’s announcement says that players who purchased the DLC in this way will be able to get a refund (it is not known how).
Signup here https://t.co/wb1R4m4emj to receive details on how eligible players can receive this credit. pic.twitter.com/69Os17kpQ8
— Arkane Studios (@ArkaneStudios) May 7, 2024
Redfall is one of the most notorious disasters in Xbox history. At launch, the game was widely criticized, and its further development was also very difficult. The game was criticized for its uncomplicated missions, unattractive combat, uninteresting enemies, poor performance, many bugs, the requirement to always be online, and so on.
Last year, the then head of Bethesda publishing Pete Hines assured players that Arkane would not abandon Redfall and was confident that people would still want to play it in 10 years. It took Arkane more than a month to release the first major patch for the game.
The Xbox Series X version took five months to get support for 60 frames per secondand the following month Arkane upset fans again when the third patch offered a new sniper rifle instead of a very much offline mode. And that was the last the players saw of the studio.