With news that Microsoft is abandoning Redfall (after claims from the megacorp that it wouldn’t be doing that), the latest announcement from developer Arkane Austin is arguably bittersweet, as the studio offered initial details for its final update.
More information about Game Update 4 is promised soon, but the studio confirmed that it will introduce an offline mode as well as single-player pausing features and revamps to the shooter’s neighborhood capturing system and nest instances. The announcement also thanks players for all of the supportive messages as the studio faces shutdown from its corporate overlords.
This last patch is the final chapter of an otherwise sordid tale: Readers will recall that Redfall’s initial release was almost universally panned by gamers and press, prompting Microsoft’s Phil Spencer to issue an apology while both Microsoft and Bethesda reassured fans that the FPS would not be abandoned. Devs from the studio further reported a directionless and chaotic dev cycle among Arkane Austin and Bethesda leadership while Microsoft remained mostly hands-off.
As for the game itself, it received two further updates — one in October 2023 and another a month later — while a revisit by our own Tyler at the beginning of this year argued that the shooter being average wasn’t an entirely awful thing. But that won’t matter now, as Redfall’s end is nigh.
Thank you for all your supportive messages.
We are working to release our final update, Game Update 4, that brings revamped Neighborhood and Nest systems, Single Player Pausing, Offline Mode, and more.
We’ll provide additional details soon. Thank you all.
— Redfall (@playRedfall) May 17, 2024
