Redfall – it probably should’ve been cancelled (pic: Microsoft)



A new report on Xbox flop Redfall reveals the project was in such a mess its own developers were hoping it would be canned.



Although there’s every chance their luck will turn with the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase, especially after Sony’ lacklustre event, Microsoft has not had a good time of it so far this year.



Arguably, their most embarrassing moment was the release of Bethesda exclusive Redfall , which quickly became one of the worst reviewed games of the year and tarnished the otherwise sterling reputation of developer Arkane Studios.



At the time, many guessed that the game was originally intended to be a live service title, filled with microtransactions, and a new report suggests that’s correct, but that rather than cancel or reboot the game Microsoft failed to do anything about it.



Microsoft’s poor management of its various studios has been called into question many times before, given the disaster that is 343 Industries and having to use external studios to get work done on Perfect Dark and Fable .



The repeated claim is that Microsoft is too hands off, ironically because they’re worried they used to be too overbearing, and apparently they made the same mistake again with Bethesda and Arkane.



According to Bloomberg , the original plan was for a live service game that could make money from microtransactions, as a response to the commerical failure of Arkane’s Prey.



Once Bethesda realised that that wasn’t going to fly with gamers they apparently re-imagined Redfall as a normal co-op game, which is also what’s believed to have happened to a number of other recent games, like Marvel’s Avengers and Suicide Squad – which didn’t bank on gamers turning against loot boxes and microtransactions, back when the games were first conceived.



The various staff interviewed for the article claim that directors Harvey Smith and Ricardo Bare did not offer clear direction on what the game was, either before or after the change in direction.



Another big problem was a lack of staff, with Arkane Austin only employing 100 people, which is small for a team trying to make an AAA game.



Worse still, because so many of the developers didn’t want to make a live service multiplayer game, many ended up leaving, with only 30% of those who had worked on Prey left by the end.



Developers apparently hoped that being bought by Microsoft would see the game rebooted as a purely single-player game, or even cancelled, but in the end the acquisition made no substantial difference.









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MORE : ‘I’m upset with myself’ says Xbox boss Phil Spencer over Redfall failure







MORE : New Game Pass trial for PC is the cheapest way to play Redfall says Xbox







MORE : Xbox deflects Redfall controversy by announcing Starfield showcase date





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