A top Xbox executive has offered an unapologetically positive perspective of the negative reactions toRedfall, labeling the backlash as an example of the fandom’s tough “love.” This unique take on Arkane Studios' ill-fated cooperative shooter arrives mere weeks after another established industry insider reported thatmanyRedfalldevelopers wanted Microsoft to cancel the gamedue to how dissatisfied they were with the overall state of the project.
Redfallwas once touted as one of Microsoft’s potentially biggest game releases of 2023, only to end up being anything but. Launched on May 2,Redfallfell to a shockingly low number of players within weeksof releasing after being universally panned by both critics and players alike.
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And while Xbox HeadPhil Spencer publicly said he’s disappointed withRedfall’slaunch, almost as soon as Arkane’s latest title hit the market, one of his C-suite colleagues has now offered a much more positive take on the game’s poor reception. In a recent interview with CNN, Head of Xbox Creator Experience Sarah Bond interpreted the negative reactions toRedfallas an example of the fandom’s “passion.” Elaborating on that stance, Bond opined that the backlash against the shooter merely underlines how Xbox fans are extremely invested in the company’s games, thus taking both its highs and lows rather emotionally. “What I actually see is love,” she explained, referring to the type of negative reactions thatRedfallelicited.
And whileRedfalldefinitely ended up being a miss for Xbox, the second half of 2023 is showing much more promise for Microsoft’s gaming division. BetweenStarfieldand many othertitles announced at the June 11 Xbox Games Showcase, the company’s fans have plenty of things to look forward to in the coming months. Yet Bond is quick to point out that this packed lineup didn’t happen overnight, stating that Microsoft took “years and years” to establish its existing game portfolio, with the implication being that a relative dud likeRedfallwas bound to crop up sooner or later.
Redfallwas already well into development by the time Microsoft decided to acquire Arkane’s holding company, ZeniMax Media, in 2021. Yet in spite of that fact and the game’s poor reception, the tech giant is still fully behind Arkane’s efforts to continue refining the shooter moving forward. Its first major attempt at doing so arrived in the form of the 1.1 update forRedfallon June 12, which fixed a wide variety of technical issues and introduced improvements to the game’s combat mechanics, enemy AI, and environment design, among other things.
Redfallis available on PC and Xbox Series X/S.
