Xbox Game Studios Boss Shares Update on Arkane Austin After Redfall Flop

At this point, it's safe to say that Redfall did not release in a state that anyone is happy with. The Xbox exclusive launched last month, and was met with highly negative reception across the board. Redfall released at a time where Xbox is struggling to give gamers an incentive to purchase a console, and first-party exclusives are meant to do just that. The game's failure prompted questions from Axios about developer Arkane Austin's safety as a first-party team. Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty says keeping the developer open "is the plan right now." 

"They are hard at work on updates and continued content for Redfall," Booty told Axios, noting that the goal is to "support them to be able to keep working to deliver the game they had in mind." 

Arkane Austin is one of several studios that came under the Xbox umbrella when Microsoft purchased ZeniMax Media in 2021. According to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, the game was already in development when the purchase went through, making it more difficult to help guide development. Hopefully that means that the next game released from Arkane Austin will be more up to the standards that Xbox fans have come to expect.

Booty went on to say that Redfall was "a miss, but how much of a miss?" before noting that the game gets "good play" on Xbox Game Pass. That could indicate that Game Pass subscribers are getting some enjoyment out of the title, despite its problems. If Arkane Austin truly is working to improve on the current game, that could mean that Game Pass subscribers are open to seeing how things improve from here. Over the last decade or so, plenty of games have been released in a lackluster state, before perception turned around. While Redfall might not ever be the kind of system seller that Xbox is currently looking for, it seems that the final verdict on the game hasn't been written just yet.

Have you checked out Redfall on Xbox Game Pass? Do you think Arkane Austin can turn perception around? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

[H/T: Eurogamer]