Major Redfall Update Cancelled as Arkane Austin Shut Down by Microsoft

Arkane Austin, one of the four studios that was unexpectedly closed down by Microsoft, was reportedly in the process of working on a significant update for Redfall, its vampire shooter game. The update was supposed to include an offline mode, which was planned to be introduced this month.

According to a report by IGN’s Wesley Yin-Poole, Arkane Austin had been actively working on downloadable content (DLC) and updates for Redfall until very recently. These updates were meant to incorporate features that were promised as part of Redfall’s Hero Pass, along with the addition of an offline mode.

The Hero Pass for Redfall was set to bring in two new characters by “Halloween,” which was almost a year and a half after the game’s initial launch that faced criticism. The offline mode was also scheduled for release this month, but with the closure of Arkane Austin by Microsoft, these plans have now been halted.

Last year, Harvey Smith, the director of Redfall, mentioned in an interview with Eurogamer that Arkane Austin was actively working to remove the game’s unpopular always-online requirement for single-player mode. The failure to launch this feature following the closure of Arkane Austin raises concerns about the future of Redfall, especially if Microsoft decides to shut down its servers.

The recent closures of studios, which include Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush, Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within studio), Alpha Dog Games (developer of Mighty Doom), and Roundhouse Studios, have been met with widespread criticism. The co-creative director of Arkane Lyon even described the closure as a “fucking gut stab” on social media.

Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra has come forward to defend Xbox boss Phil Spencer, emphasizing that this decision to close studios impacts everyone.