Arcane’s Redfall Misfire for Xbox Panned After $7.5 Billion Microsoft Deal - Bloomberg
Here is a link to the article, please read it if you’re going to engage in the discussion.
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It was always clear to me that they were struggling, especially when Todd Howard mentioned about 76 and lack of beta test. If they were with Microsoft at the time, they could have done a lot of testing before shipping a disaster.
I don’t even think the problem with Redfall was genre/MP. The bones of a good game are there. It’s just not technically ready.
This could be the same thing with Factions for Naughty Dog. Why not just replicate the first one? It’s the tech aspect that put a huge halt and wrench that probably led gears breaking out.
Diablo IV is in a tricky situation where the gameplay is amazing, but it might have the worst MTX. However, it seems the MTX is just skins, so you could ignore them
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I would love this. They probably would name it completely different yeah. I remember an article how Arkane hated how the game had to be called Prey.
I don’t see how… Zenimax/Bethesda leadership were the ones that greenlighted the game with live service and always online features. Knowing their dire situation in terms of funds and stability, before being brought.
Microsoft/Xbox does get blame for being too hands off and Phil took it on as the head of the division but Zenimax wamted this game (after Prey flopped) and somewhere in the middle of all this - before the game was announced. It was known how this Arkane team felt about the project.
In either case given the acquisitions terms not resulting in a total takeover/makeover as it usually does - despite the lip service most of the times. Xbox kept to their promise and it wasn’t like Zenimax/Bethesda was being run horribly in 2018. In comparison to a corporation like ABK with all their scandals.
(Now, that’s a corp revamping and integration acquisition wauting to happen)
And it does sound like there was an analysis and due process happening (support was added) but cancelling it out right was not an option looking at the lack of big time releases on the box, after covid hit… talk about a doomed project.
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Let’s not forget they had Shinji Mikami work on another horror, when he thought he were to do something else.
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This sounds like its different but it isn’t. If some studio exec says they want to make the game they certainly not asked some low level programmer.
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Re-reading the article, it definitely implies that Harvey Smith lied about pushing back against micro transactions
Or was overruled
With all the Linkedin stalking people online do i’m surprised we didn’t hear about Arkane Austin losing such a large number of staff. Hopefully they’ve been able to restaff but if people left because they didn’t want to work on multiplayer title(s) - i.e. what Arkane aren’t known for, it’s interesting to see how they go about hiring the staff they lost. I imagine it’s 99% certain they’ll pivot back to the sort of game the studio really wants to make so would that mean we get a CGI trailer for their next title sooner rather than later to let people know they are planning on making the sort of stuff Arkane is known for? Also does this mean they’ve replaced the staff they lose with devs with more multiplayer expertise or a bit of both single and multiplayer knowledge?
Wolfenstein Youngblood is one of the games that came to mind the closer Redfall got to release as i was hoping it didn’t get the same sort of critical reception so it’s no surprise to hear Redfall kinda had the same design idea as that, coming from the Zenimax folks. It’s a difficult situation for Xbox, I think not cancelling probably was the right move. As much as some devs didn’t want to make it, there’s still a chance a decent chunk may would have and to have years of their work dumped would probably have hurt morale there as well and not to mention other studios (and potential future ones) may start to think “Wow Microsoft just bought them and cancelled their game”. And probably deep down somewhere Zenimax and Microsoft may have hoped that Redfall may have somehow ended up being a cult hit of some sort.
I get why Microsoft are hands off, especially when they’re probably still integrating companies into the fold and Arkane/Zeni Max had run somewhat smoothly, but I suppose there is a balance to be had. In Redfalls case, other than a full on reboot or cancellation, i’m not sure what Xbox as a publisher could have done to step in to ensure Redfall ended up as a success.
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Again, in any business when something goes south that badly, there is no version where the head has zero blame, not saying most of the blame isn’t on zenimax but I give ms a good 20%, especially reading that devs were literally hoping ms would outright cancel redfall, being so oblivious to it’s state till reviews came out is a bad look.
And I 100% disagree with the idea that cancelling it was not an option, the game only hurt Xbox as a brand, it should never come out in the state that it did.
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I’m sure Schreier found someone who said recruiting to Austin was a problem, but I have a hard time believing that is actually much of a factor. Austin is an extremely progressive city with a very large tech hub.
According to this site 51 Austin Video Game Companies - GameJobHunter there are 51 game companies in Austin. Most are on the smaller side, of course, but still - that’s quite a few.
Beyond gaming, Apple, Dell, IBM, Accenture, Oracle and others all have a major presence in Austin. The place is hardly a tech wasteland…
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Zenimax forced him to make another horror? You mean TEW 2 with this?
I think Mikami didn’t just want to make horror when he set up Tango, but Bethesda wanted him to make TEW 1 (I don’t think “forced” is the right word).
The first game. They asked to do another horror because he came from Resident Evil 4 and they want that.
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The article says that Harvey Smith was the one who believed the game could find its way. Who would Phil be talking to gauge if the project was headed in the right direction? The world-renowned game director and studio head, Harvey Smith.
Also it’s not like Harvey and co were just sunshine pumping. They saw issues and asked for another year to give them time to try and see if the game could come together. Unfortunately, it didn’t. You live and you learn. Take the lessons and apply them to the next game.
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Hurt as a brand? It’s a mediocre game that’s going to be forgotten about months from now (post-showcase). And frankly? Xbox will be hunted by HALO infinite far more than RedFall.
I mean, after 3 to 4 years of development (past pre-production), two years post acquisition with COVID barely in the rear view mirror. This was Zenima’s original gamble that was further along than anything else on the docket.
Overall, it’s a situation where Xbox decided to take full blame for a poor game, and it didn’t result in any devs getting fired as a result.
Plus, it’s not like those same developers on the ground floor would have been able to voice that hope for cancelation - during development - with management saying otherwise directly to the Xbox oversight team and Phil (or Booty). I saw no indication in Jason’s report that Xbox understood the true level of displeasure with the project until much later.
Hindsight is 20/20
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