The studio behind vampire FPS Redfall has announced that no further updates are coming, with refunds offered to purchasers of premium content that will never enter the game as a result of Arkane Austin's closure.
"Arkane Austin will close and development will not continue on Redfall," reads an official statement on Twitter. "Redfall players who purchased the Hero Pass as part of the premium Bite Back edition or the premium Bite Back upgrade will be eligible to receive the value of the upgrade." The premium content in question amounted to the addition of two new playable DLC characters and various cosmetic weapons skins and outfits. While the studio has ceased work on all future updates, Arkane Austin has assured that "Redfall's servers will remain online for players to enjoy".
Arkane Austin is one of many ZeniMax-Bethesda developers affected by Microsoft's latest spate of studio shutdowns, along with with Hi-Fi Rush and Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks, as Microsoft enters a period of "reprioritization of titles and resources" (via IGN). In the same email, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty says that "some members of the [Arkane Austin] team [are] joining other studios to work on projects across Bethesda," and "make-good offers" will be made to players who have already purchased Redfall's unfinished premium content.
- Despite more than $60 million in investments, Shroud-backed FPS Spectre Divide and its dev are shutting down after the first season failed "to cover day-to-day costs"
- 2 weeks after launch, Escape from Tarkov-style survival horror mashup Level Zero: Extraction ends development because it "underperformed" expectations
While Redfall's lukewarm reception at launch in May 2023 was disappointing, as noted in our own Redfall review, subsequent updates had put the game in much better standing, improving its stability across the board to prove Redfall a solid FPS experience now in 2024.
Redfall will remain available to play on Xbox via Xbox Game Pass, and Arkane Austin has directed premium content buyers to apply for refunds through Bethesda directly.
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