What you need to know
- Arkane Austin's vampire-hunting shooter title Redfall has been receiving some updates since its launch in May 2023.
- Microsoft Gaming recently made the decision to shutter Arkane Austin (alongside Alpha Dog Games and Tango Gameworks), ending development on Redfall and cancelling previously promised DLC.
- Redfall will be getting one last patch, which will bring a revamp to the neighborhood and Nest systems, as well as adding the promised offline mode.
- There's no release date right now, but the team is sharing news "soon."
- Update, 5/30/2024: The update is now live on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC.
Update, Thursday, May 30, 2024:
The promised "ReVamp" update for Redfall is now live across Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, bringing the offline mode and a number of feature tweaks and bug fixes to the game. You can find the download size per platform below:
- PC (Steam): 20.20 GB
- PC (Microsoft Store): 22.87 GB
- Xbox: 19.94 GB
Per Bethesda, this update adds a new "Community Standing" skill tree for players, which include unlocks that all players benefit from after doing things that aid the community, such as rescuing vampire victims or establishing safehouses. Some of the skills unlocked through this new tree provided buffs like having enemies drop extra ammo, or having friendly turrets electrocute enemies once destroyed.
Elder Nests are also being added in this update, giving players new challenging fights to take on. Players can also enjoy single-player pausing and offline modes when playing Redfall, as well as a number of improvements to enemy encounters and AI behavior.
Original story:
There's a tiny bit of good news amid a dour couple of weeks for Xbox and Bethesda.
Arkane Austin's vampire-hunting shooter Redfall is getting one last update in the near future, as shared by the team on Friday via Twitter. This update will include the previously-promised offline mode, allowing players to keep going through the game even if the servers are shut off some day. This update will also include changes to the neighborhood and Nest systems.
This is despite the closure of the development studio, which was announced on May in an email from Microsoft Gaming president of Game Content and Studios Matt Booty. The email, which was viewed by me, confirmed that Microsoft was shuttering Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Games, and Tango Gameworks, with work ending on Redfall. This included cancelling previously-sold DLC with new characters, though Microsoft is working on a "make good" program to offer players who purchased the DLC.
Offline modes aid game preservation
Having an offline mode in games is critical for long-term game preservation. We've seen many games that are online-only become inaccessible forever once the servers go offline. With Arkane Austin's closure, the fear that Redfall would one day be gone was not only palpable, but downright likely. Now, that won't be the case, at least for the people who do buy Redfall.
Analysis: A small bit of good news amid an awful situation
I'm glad the team is getting to put this last update out. There's no mincing words, Redfall was not received well at launch, but as someone who had fun and didn't hate the game, I was happy it was receiving updates and was looking forward to any future additions.
Xbox has been publicly committed to game preservation over the years, with moves to ensure backward and forward compatible. These moves are laudable, but closing a studio and then not allowing the team to make sure its game could be enjoyed without online servers would've been downright insulting. This is the minimum of what players and developers should be able to expect, but I do appreciate it.
To be clear, I'm still absolutely furious over these closures, especially in light of massive layoffs across Activision Blizzard King earlier in the year after the company was acquired by Microsoft. That anger only grew once reports emerged that Tango Gameworks was pitching a sequel to its 2023 hit Hi-Fi Rush, while Arkane Austin was looking to go back to its roots with an immersive sim, like a new Dishonored game.
These teams deserved better, but I'll definitely be sure to hop back into Redfall once this update arrives.
451 forever.
