Arkane Studios’ latest game, Redfall, is due to come out on May 2 of this year for the Xbox Series X and PC. However, a recent IGN interview with the game’s creative director Harvey Smith has shown that the game was originally going to be on Playstation 5 as well.
The reason why it isn’t still going to be a Playstation 5 game is mainly thanks to the Microsoft acquisition of Zenimax Online Media (and, by extension, Bethesda) back in 2020. Once that was finalized, Microsoft put the kibosh on a Playstation 5 version of the game.
While Microsoft has previously said that they wouldn’t be making Bethesda’s biggest franchises Xbox-exclusive, that doesn’t extend to their smaller games, despite how well Arkane has done in its video game development since it first released Dishonored back in 2012 after a good bit of obscurity.
However, despite Microsoft canning the Playstation 5 version of Redfall, Smith says that the cancellation was actually a somewhat positive change, as it made it easier for Arkane to focus on fine-tuning the remaining versions. Smith is even thinking that the acquisition could help Redfall to become Arkane’s biggest game yet.
While Redfall has gotten a bit of flak due to a requirement that players always be online when playing it, there are signs that Arkane has been considering removing that requirement, which would likely help the game to get a lot more positive word-of-mouth.
Smith saying this also brings to mind other positive development stories from studios who were affected by their acquisitions by Microsoft, such as how Double Fine Productions was able to make Psychonauts 2 a great game, including restoring bosses and content cut for cost, thanks to the money that Microsoft was able to give them.
Once again, Redfall will release exclusively on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Gamepass on May 2, so if you and some friends are in the mood for some vampire-hunting, then Arkane has the game for you.
