Harvey Smith Begged Microsoft to Ship Redfall's Final Patch After Arkane Austin Layoffs
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Harvey Smith revealed he negotiated with Microsoft to release Redfall's final patch after Arkane Austin's shutdown, while also announcing his new studio, Black Pony Immersive.
Gaming industry veteran Harvey Smith recently revealed that he pleaded with Microsoft to let his former team release one last update for Redfall after Arkane Austin was shut down in May 2024. Speaking to The Game Business, Smith explained that a small group of laid-off developers had to sign special clearance forms to return to the studio and push out version 1.4. While the update could not salvage the game's difficult launch, Smith noted it finally addressed thousands of long-standing community bugbears that should have been fixed from day one.
Reflecting on the project, Smith admitted that Arkane got caught up in the industry-wide rush toward live-service mechanics. Redfall was a significant pivot from the studio's celebrated single-player roots in the immersive sim genre, complicated further by pandemic-era development hurdles. The live-service push is a trend we are still seeing ripple across major publishers today, often resulting in heavy friction when single-player studios are steered toward multiplayer trends.
Fortunately, the talent behind those classic immersive sims is already looking forward. IGN recently reported that Smith has launched a new studio called Black Pony Immersive alongside other former Arkane developers to return to the genre they pioneered. Meanwhile, sister studio Arkane Lyon continues work on Marvel's Blade while navigating ongoing ownership shifts within Xbox, leaving players watching closely to see how these legendary creators rebuild.
Tags: Industry News, Arkane Studios, Xbox, PC Gaming, Game Development
Original article: IGN South Africa