Arkane Austin was reportedly set to release a big Redfall update this month that would have added offline play to the always-online game before Microsoft suddenly shut the studio down, according to IGN. This follows yesterday's news that Microsoft was shutting down Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, Mighty Doom studio Alpha Dog Games, and absorbing Roundhouse Games into ZeniMax Online Studios.

This offline play update would have addressed one of players' biggest complaints with the game – that Redfall always requires a connection to the internet – but now that update will never see the light of day. It's an especially concerning detail considering now that Arkane Austin is closed, the day when Redfall servers are no longer live, rendering the game unplayable, seems closer than ever before.

IGNalso reports that it was told the now-canceled Hero Pass, which would have added two additional playable characters to Redfall, was scheduled for release around Halloween. It obviously won't be released now – Bethesda says those who purchased the Hero Pass will be eligible "to receive the value of the upgrade" – but if it had hit the game around Halloween, that would have been roughly 18 months after Redfall's launch.

Redfall hit Xbox Series X/S and PC on May 2 to poor reviews from critics – readGame Informer'sreview here – and players alike, and the first-person multiplayer vampire shooter failed to recover, with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer saying, "I'm upset with myself," when asked about its launch.

According to reports, some of Arkane Austin's staff hoped Microsoft might cancel Redfall or reboot it as a single player game, following the former's acquisition of ZeniMax Media in 2020 for $7.5 billion. Arkane Austin director Harvey Smith said Microsoft canceled a PlayStation 5 version of Redfall following this acquisition.

[Source: IGN]

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