Microsoft isn't shutting down Redfall developer Arkane Austin, says Xbox head

Arkane Austin's Redfall has obviously been a bit of a critical failure, but Xbox Game Studios chief Matt Booty says we don't need to worry about the studio shutting down.

As the reviews started to come in at the beginning of May for Arkane's latest, Redfall, a four player co-op vampire hunting shooter, it quickly became clear that the game wasn't in the best shape. Our own review gave it 3/5 stars, and with so many studio closures over the last year, it would be fair to be worried that Arkane Austin might be shut down for not meeting expectations. Thankfully, that isn't the case though, as Booty recently clarified in an interview with Axios. When asked about fans hopeful that the studio will stay open, Booty responded, "That is the plan right now. They are hard at work on updates and continued content for Redfall."

Booty also noted that he felt there was a failure on his part to properly set expectations for what Redfall needed to be as a first-party title, saying, "I feel accountable that we could have done a better job with Arkane." Xbox head Phil Spencer also took accountability for the state the game launched in last month, apologising to players of Redfall for the game they ended up with, as well as promising further updates.

According to Booty, though, Redfall might not be doing as bad as you might have assumed, saying that it's getting "good play," through Xbox Game Pass. "It was a miss, but how much of a miss? I want to support them to be able to keep working to deliver the game they had in mind." Of course, Booty didn't share specific numbers, but that's the way it is with the streaming model these days.

A report from earlier this month shed some light on Redfall's development, painting a very messy picture, with claims that many staff members didn't even want to make the game, and a lack of clear direction on the project.