A lot of Arkane devs would rather have worked on a classic-style immersive sim, and I can't say I disagree.
Bloomberg's investigation states that Redfall's development was afflicted by chronic understaffing. Arkane Austin's team of fewer than 100 people simply wasn't large enough for the job of creating a marquee, multiplayer-focused shooter—a problem that wasn't helped as dispirited veteran devs began an exodus from the project as it limped along.
A brief moment of hope was delivered in the form of Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax in September 2020, though probably not in the way studio bosses would have preferred. Sources told Bloomberg that, once Arkane Austin staff learned they'd been picked up as part of Microsoft's acquisition, they hoped the new boss would force a reboot of the project as a classic, Arkane-style single-player project.
No such mandate came. Instead, Microsoft allowed ZeniMax to go on much as it had before, enjoying a great deal of autonomy and ensuring that the plans for Redfall remained much as they had been from the start: A multiplayer FPS with barely any of the qualities—emergent gameplay, tight level design—that Arkane was known for. Small wonder, then, that it eventually released in the state it did.
As an inveterate Prey liker and Dishonored fancier, I was wary when Redfall was announced and disappointed—if not surprised—when it finally released. The entire Bloomberg report is worth reading to see how that project came to pass, and I hope the right lessons have been learned from its failure. With so many veteran devs apparently gone, I'm worried about where Arkane Austin goes next, but I hope it'll be a project much more in its wheelhouse than Redfall was.
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