Akane Austin – one of four studios closed as part of a shock announcement by Microsoft earlier today – was reportedly working on a major update for its embattled vampire shooter Redfall, that was set to release this month.
That’s according to IGN’s Wesley Yin-Poole, who writes Arkane Austin was working on DLC and updates for the game “until very recently”. These updates included features promised as part of Redfall’s long-promised Hero Pass and an release that would include an offline mode.
As per IGN, Redfall’s Hero Pass was set to add two new characters this “Halloween” – almost a year and a half after the game’s critically panned launch – while an offline mode was due to release as part of a new update later this month, until Microsoft’s closure decision put an end to those plans.
Last year, Redfall game director Harvey Smith told Eurogamer the studio was “working actively” to remove its hugely unpopular always-online requirement when playing strictly in single-player mode – and it’s failure to launch raises questions about the game’s future should Microsoft take the next step of pulling Redfall’s servers offline.
Today’s studio closures – impacting Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush and The Evil Within studio Tango Gameworks, Mighty Doom developer Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Studios – have been met with widespread condemnation, with Arkane Lyon’s studio and co-creative director even taking to social media to describe the move as a “fucking gut stab”.
Since then, former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra has moved to defend Xbox boss Phil Spencer, insisting, “I know this hurts him as much as anyone else.”
www.eurogamer.net
