What do you need to know
- Redfall is a vampire-slaying shooter from former Microsoft subsidiary Arkane Austin.
- The game was a commercial and critical flop, criticized for its overall lack of polish and uninspired gameplay.
- About a year after its launch, Microsoft shut down the studio behind the game, Arkane Austin, which also created the criminally underrated immersive sim Prey.
- Users who purchased Redfall’s “Bite Back Edition” were promised additional DLC, which was eventually canceled.
- Now, Microsoft has started releasing refunds to digital owners on Steam and Xbox.
Redfall was a 4-player co-op shooter set in a fictional island community besieged by vampires and other such mutants. Developed by Arkane Austin of Prey fame, Redfall looked like it had some promise in its initial marketing cycle, but unfortunately the full game fell far short of expectations. A general lack of polish, lined with uninspired gameplay, left Redfall struggling to stand out in a busy crowd and therefore unable to find an audience.
Microsoft acquired the studio behind Redfall some time midway through development as part of its Bethesda/ZeniMax purchase a few years ago. Roughly a year after Redfall’s disappointing launch, Microsoft shuttered Arkane Austin along with Tango Gameworks and other Bethesda Studios as part of a restructuring effort. Incidentally, the promised Redfall DLC plans have been shelved, leaving users who purchased season passes and related content early on with the “Bite Back” edition of the game. Now it seems that Microsoft and Bethesda are trying to repair the damage.
Tonight I got tips from users who bought Redfall’s Bite Back Edition that they are getting automatic refunds. The Bite Back Edition costs $26.99, and it looks like Microsoft is giving a full refund to users on both Xbox and Steam.
Refunds appear to be coming in waves, with some already receiving one while others are currently waiting. You should check the junk mail attached to your Steam or Xbox account to see if it went there. One user also informed me that he was able to work with Bethesda customer support and get a refund for the physical Redfall Bite Back Edition even after submitting a ticket. Even if you go this route, be patient with the wait times as there may be several other people trying to get a refund using this method as well.
The right thing for customers
Redfall had a solid concept behind it, given that we live in a world with a chronic lack of high-quality vampire games these days. Perhaps it’s the enduring curse of the Twilight movies, but unfortunately, Redfall was not destined for greatness. Redfall received some solid post-launch updates, including a 60 FPS mode, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough.
The human cost of Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks and other studios shut down by Microsoft in recent years is still raw. But at the very least, it’s good to see Bethesda and Microsoft doing things right for customers who bought expected content only to not receive it. If you picked up the Redfall Bite Back Edition, watch your inbox for a refund or drop Bethesda Customer Support if you own the physical version.
Arkane lives on under the Arkane Lyon branch and is now working with Disney and Marvel on a game based on the similarly vampiric Blade IP.