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Redfall is one of the biggest disappointments of 2023 so far, falling well short of the standards set by not only Xbox exclusives, but also developer Arkane’s high reputation. According to a new report from Bloomberg, the project was beset with difficulties from the start, leading to roughly 70% of the company’s staff that worked on Prey leaving by the end of development.
The report, which cites more than a dozen anonymous sources that worked on the game, states that the game’s lack of success was not a surprise to many at the studio. The sources say that the project lacked clear direction from the start, with management offering conflicting visions for the game’s overall goals–some felt that they were making Redfall’s Far Cry, while others were told they were making something akin to Borderlands.
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Now Playing: Redfall Review – Half-Staked
In general, the report shows that studio staff felt uneasy about working on Arkane’s first multiplayer game, given that the developer was well-known for crafting high-quality immersive sims like the Dishonored series and Prey. The report estimates that roughly 70% of the staff who worked on Prey, the studio’s last game, were no longer employed by Arkane Austin at the end of Redfall’s development.
However, because Redfall was under wraps for most of its development, the studio reportedly struggled to replace outgoing talent. Sources say that those who applied to fill the empty seats at the studio wanted to make the immersive single-player games that the developer is best-known for, rather than its first stab at multiplayer success.
The report also corroborates a rumor that’s spread widely about Redfall since its launch, which is that the game was essentially designed with microtransactions in mind for much of its development. Bloomberg suggests that its “monetization plans” were scrapped in 2021 due to mounting difficulties and controversies that “games-as-a-service” titles faced at that time.
With Redfall’s unfortunate failure, the pressure is now on Bethesda’s exclusive Starfield to deliver for Xbox when it releases later this year. Starfield releases on September 6, 2023.
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