Arkane Austin

Redfall is getting a final update which will add an offline mode and singleplayer pausing, among other changes. The news was announced via the Redfall account on X, which also thanked players for their "supportive messages" in light of developer Arkane Austin's imminent closure by Microsoft.

Redfall is getting one final update after all.

Xbox fans, and some of their employees, were blindsided earlier this month when Microsoft announced a number of their studios were being shuttered, including the “gut stab” closure of Arkane Austin, developer of the acclaimed Prey and the more troubled Redfall. Following the announcement Arkane Austin was shutting up shop, it was reported that the team had been working on additional updates for Redfall, including one that would deliver a long-promised offline mode. Unfortunately, at the time, it seemed unlikely any of these promised updates would come to fruition.

Despite announcing the end of development forRedfall, Arkane Austin has confirmed a final update. In a new tweet, the studio revealed that Game Update 4 is in the works and would add single-player pausing and offline mode. Furthermore, it revamps the Neighborhood and Nest systems.

Microsoft will soon announce its intention to release this year’s mainline Call of Duty game straight into Game Pass, according to a new report.

Microsoft had announced in February that it would bring four of its exclusive Xbox titles to rival platforms from Sony and Nintendo. It seems the company is not stopping with its four first-party games coming to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. A new report claims that the Xbox parent intends to make a multi-platform push for more of its games. Under the plan, internally codenamed “Latitude,” more upcoming first-party Xbox titles are said to be in development for the PS5.

The Xbox multiplatform plans reportedly have no "red line" regarding which games could be released on PlayStation consoles, as they revolve around a simple, short-term mandate.

Hi-Fi Rush is set for its final patch later today, May 15, amid the closure of its developer Tango Gameworks.

This week, Microsoft and Bethesda announced that they would be closing down multiple game development studios under their umbrella. These include Alpha Dog Games, maker of Mighty Doom, and Arkane Austin, developer of the disastrous Redfall among others. In the gaming industry, the conventional wisdom has long been held that bad games sink you and great games save you, which would lead many to drawing an unfortunate line between Redfall’s reception and Arkane Austin’s closure — but immediately stops supporting that conclusion when you get to Tango Gameworks.

Bethesda Softworks has registered for a new trademark for what might be a new DOOM game by virtue of its IDKFA name (which is a cheat code in DOOM). The trademark details can be viewed by clicking here, and it was registered on 2024-01-09 with its current status as still pending approval.

Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty has reportedly said Microsoft needs smaller games that will earn it «prestige and awards» a day after shutting down Tango Gameworks.

Lords of the Fallen and Sniper: Ghost Warrior publisher CI games has laid off 30 more members of staff less than four months after it cut 10% of its workforce.

Steam users are leaving positive reviews for Hi-Fi Rush following Microsoft’s shock decision to close its developer, Tango Gameworks.

This Week in Business is our weekly recap column, a collection of stats and quotes from recent stories presented with a dash of opinion (sometimes more than a dash) and intended to shed light on various trends. Check every Friday for a new entry.

Addressing Microsoft's recent call to close down four of its first-party studios, including Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, Xbox President Sarah Bond talked about the motive behind it. Other companies that Xbox recently dissolved are Redfall developer Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Studios.

Sea of Thieves debuted on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch last month and has done rather well on Sony's console, managing to become among the most downloaded titles for the last month.

Xbox president Sarah Bond has responded to questions about Microsoft’s decision to shut a number of much-loved studios this week, insisting it was about ensuring the Xbox business remains healthy for the long-term during what she called “this moment of transition.”

Xbox president Sarah Bond has spoken more about the company’s decision to close four Bethesda studios earlier this week.

After Microsoft unexpectedly announced it closed Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, some wondered whether the previously announced physical version of the game would ever see the light of day. But don't worry — despite Tango Gameworks' closure, Limited Run Games is still planning to release a physical edition of the studio's final project.

Ah, it feels like only yesterday that Microsoft shut down Tango Gameworks, creators of Hi-Fi Rush, and now here's Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, telling Microsoft staff at an internal townhall meeting that "we need smaller games that give us prestige and awards" - a sentence we might plausibly lengthen to "...like Hi-Fi Rush".

It seems Redfall was gearing up to release a big update for May 2024 before Arkane Austin was suddenly shuttered by Xbox. Redfall got off to a very rough start when it first launched last year. The game released to overwhelmingly negative reviews and was quickly abandoned. Despite this, there were still plans to release Redfall DLC characters and updates to improve the experience.

The sudden closure of several video-game studios at Microsoft's Xbox division was the result of a widespread cost-cutting initiative that still isn't finished.

Xbox closed down four studios this week, including The Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks and Dishonored developer Arkane Austin. The backlash has been overwhelming, and Matt Booty only added fuel to the fire yesterday when he said that the company needs "smaller games that give us prestige and awards", perfectly describing Tango's recently released Hi-Fi Rush.

Japanese game company Capcom has reported record sales and predicted even bigger returns are to come, with big hitter Monster Hunter Wilds waiting in the wings.

Arkane Austin is officially no more, and Studio Director Harvey Smith, who has worked at Arkane for over sixteen years, shared all his emotions in a long and heartfelt thread on Twitter/X. Over the course of his 30-plus-year-long career in the industry, Smith was a lead designer at Ion Storm on Deus Ex, a director on Deus Ex: Invisible War, and a designer on Thief: Deadly Shadows. After a brief stint at Midway, he joined Arkane to be a creative director, designer, and writer on the first Dishonored.

Earlier this week, Microsoft announced a number of their studios were being shuttered, including Arkane Austin (Prey, Redfall), Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within, Hi-Fi Rush), and Alpha Dog Games, while Roundhouse Studios will be absorbed into ZeniMax Online Studios to work on The Elder Scrolls Online. This follows nearly 1,900 layoffs earlier in the year, largely from Microsoft’s newly-acquired Activision Blizzard teams. Unfortunately, it seems this isn’t the end of the pain.

The sudden closure of several video-game studios at Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox division was the result of a widespread cost-cutting initiative that still isn't finished. 

A new report suggests that Microsoft's decision to close Redfall developer Arkane Austin and cease work on the game came just before the expected release of a major update, with additional content also planned for the rest of the year.

Xbox rocked the games industry earlier this week by closing down Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, two developers responsible for beloved titles such as The Evil Within series, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and the Prey reboot. Pretty much everyone was surprised by the announcement, including the people at Tango and Arkane Austin themselves, who were reportedly in the middle of pitching new projects to Xbox before being shut down.

After Microsoft purchased Activision Blizzard, many wondered whether the tech giant would follow its current precedent of putting its first-party games on Game Pass on the same day as their official release date. More specifically, this would include Call of Duty, one of the most profitable gaming franchises over the last several years.

Tang Gameworks was in the process of pitching a Hi-Fi Rush sequel and wanted to hire additional staff before its sudden closure, according to a new Bloomberg report.

In light of the recent closure of Hi-Fi Rush and The Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks, the studios original founder, Shinji Mikami, has taken to social media platform X to share his thoughts.

Ken Levine, founder of Ghost Story Games and creator of the game Judas, said he's interested in recruiting developers from Arkane Austin, one of the developers recently shut down by Microsoft. Arkane Austin, not to be confused with Arkane Lyon, produced games like Prey and Redfall, while the latter was responsible for Deathloop and the upcoming Marvel's Blade. Now, some developers from Arkane Austin may join the Judas team.

Resident Evil creator and Tango Gameworks founder Shinji Mikami has shared his thoughts on the announced closure of the renowned game studio. On May 7, Microsoft revealed that it was shutting down four Bethesda studios: Redfall developer Arkane Austin, mobile studio Alpha Dog Games, Roundhouse Studios, and Tango Gameworks.

Microsoft has signed Lords of the Fallen and Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 for release in its subscription service, Game Pass.

Redfall was set to get its long-promised offline mode this month before Microsoft decided to close its studio down, according to a new report.

Vampire shooter Redfall was to receive an offline mode via update this very month before Microsoft staked creators Arkane Austin, according to a report. To spell it out, the cancellation of the offline functionality means that Redfall will now be officially playable for only as long as Microsoft run the servers. Another win for videogame preservation!

Arkane Lyon director Dinga Bikaba has taken to Twitter to condemn the closure of Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Roundhouse Studios and Alpha Dog Studios by Microsoft. Calling these events “absolutely terrible,” he implored gaming company executives to “make us proud when times are tough.”

With Arkane Austin shutting down and the previous update or Redfall being its last, players who own the Hero Pass won’t have anything to look forward to. Servers are also online for now, but the promised offline mode is also not happening. Despite the lack of updates on future content, IGN reports that the developer was working on a roadmap before its closure.

Microsoft has shuttered several Bethesda-owned game studios, including Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks and Redfall maker Arkane Austin, in order to shift focus on to its “priority games”. The Xbox parent is also closing Alpha Dog Games, makers of the mobile game Mighty Doom, while Roundhouse Studios, which also contributed to Redfall development, will be absorbed by ZeniMax Online Studios. The development, initially reported by IGN, was confirmed by affected studios Tango Gameworks and Arkane in separate posts on X late Tuesday. The shutdowns come months after Microsoft announced layoffs at Xbox and Activision Blizzard earlier this year, which made 1,900 roles redundant.

The now abandoned Redfall had a roadmap of support that was being actively worked on before Microsoft scrapped all development and closed its developer, IGN can reveal.

Former Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra has claimed that Xbox head Phil Spencer will be hurting “as much as anyone else” following the closure of four first-party studios.

Redfall MSRP $70.00 Score Details Pros

In an announcement made on May 7, Xbox stated that it is ending all development on Redfall. In the same memo, Xbox also announced the closure of Arkane Austin, the developer of the game. Redfall’s developer wasn’t the only studio shut down, as several others are also shutting their doors.

Microsoft are shutting down multiple game studios including Redfall developers Arkane Austin and the creators of Hi-Fi Rush, Tango Gameworks. The news was delivered via an email to staff from Xbox boss Matt Booty which has since been seen by IGN. Booty calls the decision a "consolidation of our Bethesda studio teams, so that we can invest more deeply in our portfolio of games and new IP."

Microsoft is closing four Bethesda studios: Redfall developer Arkane Austin, Mighty Doom developer Alpha Dog Studios, Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, and support studio Roundhouse Games. Xbox Game Studios leader Matt Booty announced the news to staff in an email Tuesday citing a reprioritization of “high-impact titles,” according to IGN. Arkane, Alpha Dog, and Tango Gameworks confirmed the closures on their respective X accounts.

After layoffs earlier this year that impacted Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and Xbox, Microsoft has shuttered four major studios under Bethesda. Arkane Austin (Redfall), Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush), Alpha Dog Studios (Mighty Doom), and Roundhouse Games will be shuttered due to a “reprioritization of titles and resources.” The number of employees laid off has not been specified.

Redfall celebrated its first anniversary recently, with fans questioning the lack of information on DLC characters promised with the Hero Pass. With Microsoft shutting down Arkane Austin, the co-op shooter’s November update is the last, and development has officially ceased.

Microsoft is shutting down four of the studios it picked up as part of the 2020 Bethesda acquisition, as reported by IGN.

Microsoft has closed a number of Bethesda studios, including Redfall maker Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush and The Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks, and more in devastating cuts at Bethesda, IGN can confirm.

Redfall will receive no further updates, as Microsoft “ends all development” on the game.

Xbox is closing down four Bethesda studios, including Redfall developer Arkane Austin and Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango Gameworks.

As Microsoft tries to beef up its in-house Xbox studios, it may want to be more careful about leaving a trail of broken promises when things don’t go as planned. A year after the hyped vampire shooter Redfall landed with a thud, a Kotaku report highlights how players are still waiting for the advertised post-launch DLC they already paid for.

Dishonored fans may want to tune in to Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards 2023 event, which is due to air on December 7 at 7:30 PM ET / 4:30 PM PT / 12:30 AM GMT across all major streaming services and social platforms.

Six month after its initial release, developer Arkane's beleaguered vampire shooter Redfall has received a third major patch, this one primarily focusing on performance improvements and fixes, although it does add a tiny bit of new content in the form of a gun.

After adding 60 FPS Performance Mode and stealth takedowns to Redfall last month, Arkane Austin is back with the third Title Update. It introduces a new Unrivaled Sniper Rifle, Basilisk, which charges the first bullet in a magazine with UV power and petrifies enemies hit. However, it won’t work on foes immune to the status or recently affected by it.

Bethesda and developer Arkane Austin have released a big update for Redfall, adding a 60fps Performance Mode on Xbox Series X|S and making a bunch of gameplay improvements and tweaks, as well as more accessibility options, as they try to deliver on their promises to make this into a much better game.

Bethesda and developer Arkane Austin have released a big update for Redfall, adding a 60fps Performance Mode on Xbox Series X|S and making a bunch of gameplay improvements and tweaks, as well as more accessibility options, as they try to deliver on their promises to make this into a much better 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.

Bethesda‘s head of publishing Pete Hines says the company will make Redfall “a good game”, despite an underwhelming reception at launch.

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.

It looks like Arkane Austin is headed back to its roots after the Redfall debacle.