Despite news that Microsoft was stopping development on Redfall and closing its studio, Arkane Austin, the game will get one final update.
According to a post on X (formerly Twitter), the team said it is “working to release our final update, Game Update 4, that brings revamped Neighborhood and Nest systems, Single Player Pausing, Offline Mode, and more.” It’s unclear when the update will release, but the post also notes that there will be more information coming soon.
Thank you for all your supportive messages.
We are working to release our final update, Game Update 4, that brings revamped Neighborhood and Nest systems, Single Player Pausing, Offline Mode, and more.
We’ll provide additional details soon. Thank you all.
— Redfall (@playRedfall) May 17, 2024
This news comes as a welcome surprise since it counters statements from Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, which said that with the closing of Arkane Austin, Bethesda would be stopping active development on Redfall. In an email previously sent to staff, Booty claimed that “Redfall’s previous update will be its last as we end all development on the game.” Reports that emerged following the news said that Redfall developers had been working on a lot of new features before the closure. According to IGN, the team had a road map in place that included an offline mode, which would allow users to play without an active internet connection (this was a point of contention when the game launched).
Now, it looks like we’ll be getting one last update that adds some of those features, like an offline mode, to Redfall. It will also likely quell fears that the game would be unplayable once the servers, which will remain up for the time being, are taken offline.
Redfall didn’t meet expectations when it launched in May 2023. It was critically panned for its empty open world, poor NPC AI, subpar performance, and unenjoyable multiplayer. While the game received some post-launch updates, including a coveted 60 frames-per-second (fps) mode on console, it didn’t help is shed the bad reputation Redfall had among players. Even Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer had to respond. “There’s nothing that’s more difficult for me than disappointing the Xbox Community,” he said on Kinda Funny’s Xcast. “To just watch the community lose confidence and be disappointed, I’m disappointed.”
Arkane Austin was just one of four studios affected by recent closures at Microsoft. Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks and Alpha Dog Studios were also shuttered, while Roundhouse Games was merged into ZeniMax Online Studios. Booty’s reasoning for the move was so that the company could begin “prioritizing high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds which you have nurtured over many decades.”
