Microsoft Reportedly Didn’t Get Involved With Xbox Dud “Redfall”
So far, the Xbox exclusive Redfall is known to have been a huge commercial and critical hit when it launched last month. Its rather interesting concept – vampires living on a wealthy Massachusetts island – is hampered by bugs and a general lack of polish. (The description “not fit for public consumption” summed up Jessica Condit’s impressions in an ReturnByte review.) Now Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has pulled back the curtain on the alleged behind-the-scenes turmoil that led to Xbox’s latest setback in its mission. reach. Sony and Nintendo console retailers.
The story shows that Arkane Studios’ development lacked direction long before Microsoft acquired Zenimax, the studio’s parent company, in 2020. Hoping to get some lucrative juice to boost mainstream “games-as-a-service” titles like Fortnite and Overwatch, Arkane (better) Known for its popular single-player games, like Dishonored 2 and Prey) seemed to incorporate microtransactions into Redfall early on. The game was eventually demonetized, but the allegedly rough start set the tone for a sloppy, fragmented design process.
Developers who spoke informally to Bloomberg described the leadership of co-directors Harvey Smith and Riccardo Pare as unfocused. “The developers, led by Smith and Barry, said management was outwardly enthusiastic, but as the project progressed, they provided no clear direction,” Bloomberg wrote. “Staff said that over time they became frustrated with management’s frequent switching of references to other games such as Far Cry and Borderlands, which left each department with a different understanding of what they were doing.” In addition, sources describe a “fundamental tension” between the focus on single-player and multiplayer, with the developers reportedly feeling that the game was trying to accomplish two things, but failing at neither.
Another challenge was recruiting and retaining existing staff. Developers usually joined Arkane wanting to work in the singleplayer/simulation genres that the studio was known for; Several employees reportedly left while working on the unfocused multiplayer fiasco. Additionally, the studio’s headquarters in Austin, Texas, meant that hiring also had to contend with the state’s reactionary social policies under Governor Greg Abbott and the far-right Texas legislature. “Because Redfall has yet to go public, the studio was unable to describe its details to potential hires — a pitfall that compounded its staffing woes,” Bloomberg added. And all of this was compounded by the fact that Arkane was trying to create a multiplayer game with so many people that the single-player games were designed for; Even outsourcing to other studios didn’t help enough.
When Microsoft bought ZeniMax, Arkane’s new parent company mostly took the hands off. “In addition to canceling the Redfall version planned for Sony’s rival PlayStation, Microsoft has allowed ZeniMax to continue operating as before with significant autonomy,” Schreyer said. As a result, the story details the development’s “turbulent final months”, including many delays. Perhaps it doesn’t help that Smith and other alleged studio executives practice magical thinking (or at least magic-speaking), the promise of “magic of the Ark” being a last-minute fix for a troubled production. No, and several Bloomberg sources said they were surprised to find that the game’s public release hasn’t changed substantially since I last played it in 2021.
While Microsoft inherited (what seems like) a gigantic mess, the company deserves some blame for not realizing the game’s flaws before its release and either shelving it entirely or possibly remaking it as a single game. We may see how quickly Microsoft recovers and learns from its mistakes as we approach the expected arrival of Starfield in September. In the meantime, I recommend checking out this Bloomberg story to learn more about making an Xbox exclusive sniff.
