Redfall Bosses Explain What Happened With The Failed Xbox Exclusive
Redfall, an Xbox-exclusive vampire shooter developed by Arkane Austin, launched to negative reviews in 2023 and became the studio’s final project before closure. Microsoft shut down Arkane Austin in May 2024, eliminating both the team and the game’s planned post-launch support.
In recent interviews, director Harvey Smith and producer Ben Horne reflected on what went wrong, attributing Redfall’s struggles to the studio adopting a live-service model—a significant departure from Arkane’s specialization in single-player, narrative-driven experiences. Smith, a legendary designer known for Deus Ex and the Dishonored series, explained that Redfall was a “difficult project” and that Arkane “got swept up in the games-as-a-service thing” as the industry pushed toward live-service monetization.
Despite the studio’s shutdown, Smith reportedly pleaded with Microsoft to release one final patch to improve the game, but the request was denied. The closure left no opportunity for post-launch improvements to address community feedback.
Smith and Horne have since founded Black Pony Immersive, a new studio focused on first-person action-RPGs. Their pivot away from live-service suggests a return to the specialized design philosophy Arkane was known for. Redfall serves as a cautionary example of how established studios pursuing unfamiliar monetization models can struggle creatively and commercially.