Bethesda exec says Redfall won’t be abandoned and that it’ll ‘get it to be a good game’

Microsoft has recently suffered perhaps its biggest ever leak in the games industry, having accidentally uploaded unredacted documents as part of its legal proceedings with the FTC. In the process, several new details have emerged, including the company’s plans to release a cloud hybrid next-gen Xbox console in 2028, a mid-gen Xbox Series X refresh that’s apparently in the works, a new Xbox controller that will have haptic feedback, Bethesda’s whole slate of upcoming titles, and more.

It looks like The Elder Scrolls 6 won't be releasing until 2026 at the very earliest, and our PlayStation pals are likely going to be missing out entirely.

By Andrew Webster, an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.

From the looks of it, legendary development studio id Software is working on a new version of its proprietary game engine - id Tech 8.

Microsoft announced that the Xbox Digital Broadcast is returning for Tokyo Game Show 2023 after last year's debut. The Xbox Digital Broadcast is set to air on Tokyo Game Show’s official YouTube channel and select Xbox social channels in Japanese, English, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Malay, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, French, German, and Castilian Spanish starting September 21st at 6 PM JST / 9 AM UTC / 2 AM PDT. The broadcast will also be available with Japanese Sign Language (JSL), Australian Sign Language (AusLan), and audio descriptions in both Japanese and English.

Microsoft has detailed Xbox’s September system update, which is rolling out this week.

There’s been a bad trend in video games over the last several years that gamers are truly tired of. We’re speaking of developers launching titles that aren’t ready for release and then expecting gamers to play them, buy them, or stay with them despite their “buggy states.” An excellent example of this is Redfall. The game by Arkane Studios, who had an excellent track record before this title, was an unmitigated disaster due to how buggy and boring the game was at launch. The title was dead on arrival, and it’s stayed that way ever since.

If the last six months or so of gaming have taught us anything, it’s that the “rivalry” between the three main gaming publishers is still going strong. That might be sad to say or hear, but it’s the truth. Sony sued Microsoft for anti-trust reasons basically, and during those proceedings, neither of them wanted to admit that Nintendo was a “true rival” for them due to the Switch’s price point, of all things. These three have been going at it for a long time, yet Phil Spencer found time to go and play Super Mario Bros Wonder at the recent Nintendo Live event.

Bethesda’s head of publishing, Pete Hines, has affirmed that Arkane’s co-op FPS Redfall won’t be abandoned, and that “we're going to get it to be a good game”. 

Redfall, the first big exclusive game released by Bethesda since it was acquired by Microsoft, got a disappointing reception. Even Microsoft executives Phil Spencer (CEO of the Gaming section) and Matt Booty (Head of Xbox Game Studios) had to acknowledge it while vowing to support developer Arkane Austin in its endeavor to improve the game.

Pete Hines, publishing head at Bethesda Softworks, has stated that the company has no plans to give up on Redfall, and that the game will become good down the line with updates bringing in improvements. The company hopes to raise the quality of the game to the same extent as it has other titles like The Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76.

Bethesda Softworks publishing head Pete Hines has reassured players that Arkane isn't giving up on Redfall, despite its lukewarm reception on launch earlier this year. In fact, he's confident it will be a good game people want to play on Game Pass ten years from now.