a real disaster that makes Xbox react

The new Xbox exclusive Redfall disappointed enormously. To the point where Xbox boss Phil Spencer took the floor to explain himself and admit his mistakes.

Without being anything like Starfield or Forza Motorsport, the two big future Xbox series and PC exclusives, Redfall should have had a happier start. Developed by the teams at Arkane Austin for good reason. But the reality was more brutal than expected and the game had poor reception. Between the creative vision that disappointed and the lack of finish, the title failed.

In an informative interview Phil Spencer, boss of Xbox, commented on this new release. Does he want the studio? To oneself ? Both ?

Xbox boss disappointed after Redfall flop

redfall, the Xbox Series X|S and PC exclusive from Arkane Austin (Prey), was released this week. Despite a team with a solid reputation, their new game has taken a brick wall. If we look at Metacritic, the site that summarizes the reviews, it scores 59/100 on the Xbox series and 57/100 on PC for the press. And it’s much worse for players, with averages of 2.8/10 and 1.9/100 respectively. To see if there isn’t a review bombing, but for once, many gamers are extremely disappointed with the title itself.

In light of that failure, Xbox boss Phil Spencer spoke at length during the Kinda Funny podcast. He’s sorry for disappointing the community and blames himself.

Nothing is harder for me than disappointing the Xbox community. Seeing her lose confidence, disappointed, disappoints me too and I blame myself. Compared to internal estimates, this is below our expectations. And that’s one of the most disappointing things, because we wouldn’t bother releasing a game that we think would have a rating in the 60% range. It’s well below our estimate, but it’s nobody’s fault but us and we have to assume.

Over Kind of funny etc VGC.

A creative vision problem for Redfall? Insufficient degree? Both. But even Arkane Austin wouldn’t have grasped the scope of becoming a first-party studio, and Xbox didn’t know how to support them to be clear at that level.

There are quality problems and we are working to solve them. But one fundamental thing that stands out in the feedback I’m getting is that the game doesn’t deliver the creative vision it intended for the players. I know there are bugs, I’ve seen them and we’re getting the telemetry data. But for a game that’s just launched, it’s not disproportionate. That doesn’t mean we hate animations, texture loading, or AI bugs.

I think the expectations of a game that was developed by a third party studio and suddenly becomes a first party are different. We haven’t done a good job of helping Arkane Austin understand what’s at stake. But also to use our internal resources so that they can move even faster in this direction. We put them to work on the game…it’s a very talented team. I love this team and always do and I will rely on them 100% to make another great game.

Over Kind of funny etc VGC.

Lack of studio support and unnecessary delay

Could a significant delay have changed the game? Not really according to Phil Spencer. From his point of view, the biggest problem is not the bugs, but the unfinished creative vision and/or which didn’t convince the players. The Xbox boss also admits that manufacturer support wasn’t important enough, while Arkane Austin obviously needed it to refine Redfall.

When a game has to be postponed, like we’ve done with Halo, Starfield, and Redfall, because the production schedule dictates that “we have a vision but don’t have time to deliver it,” we postpone the games. In this case, the team has not achieved its own internal goals. I think it’s a bit too easy to say “hey, maybe with a delay of three, but the creative heart of the game would have been very different”.

If there is a production time issue, we are willing to push it forward. If there are more errors than expected, ditto. But at some point we have to have a creative vision and release the game, then the press and the players tell us what they think.

We should have been there earlier to support Harvey Smith (note: the creative director). It’s our fault. We have a group of studios that have been doing great work with the Unreal Engine for years. I think we came too late to help them when they had problems.

Over Kind of funny etc VGC.

Redfall, the new game by Arkane Austin (Prey), dead already?

What future for Redfall? Is he stillborn? This is the question that some players have asked given the game’s presence on Steam. But in any case, Xbox and Arkane will not let Austin down. For starters, the 60 fps mode needs to be added in the short term. A dot that lingers over Phil Spencer’s throat.

« I think back to the announcement of 60 fps, then not being able to offer it… We rightfully took a slap in the face a couple of weeks ago. We’re still working on this 60fps update… and the game. We’ve demonstrated our commitment to the advancement of games like with Sea of Thieves or grounded » he said. Sea of Thieves or Grounded actually came out with insufficient content and also a lack of direction. Something that has changed over the months with the integration of new features. Which, by the way, greatly benefited the pirate game.