Last week's closure of Arkane Austin (along with Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Games) spelled the end of the line for its not particularly well-received co-op FPS Redfall, and any shot it may have had at a Cyberpunk 2077-style redemption tour. But it's getting one final update before the end comes, which among other things will include a long-awaited offline mode.
The update was announced via a brief message on Twitter. "Thank you for all your supportive messages," Arkane wrote. "We are working to release our final update, Game Update 4, that brings revamped Neighborhood and Nest systems, Single Player Pausing, Offline Mode, and more. We’ll provide additional details soon. Thank you all."
Redfall requires an online connection even in singleplayer mode, which isn't great—a point director Harvey Smith acknowledged a couple months before the game's launch. Smith said adding offline play was not a small job, but that Arkane was "looking into and working actively toward fixing that in the future."
That aspiration presumably went off the rails when Redfall tanked badly at launch, giving developers more pressing matters to worry about. Updates followed but players did not, and promised new characters and other content were delayed into 2024, before falling victim to Arkane Austin's closure.
While the big content additions are off the table, it's good to see that proper singleplayer support is coming. There aren't many people playing Redfall right now, but it would be a shame to see it rendered completely inoperable because of reliance on remote servers that are no longer there, particularly given that Redfall is barely a year old at this point. Arkane said when the closure was announced that Redfall servers will remain online so people can continue playing, but that's not a situation that's going to last forever—especially with concurrent player counts languishing in double-digits.
The response to the Redfall tweet is bittersweet: Hundreds of replies thanking Arkane Austin for its efforts, and expressing sympathy and sadness for its fate.
Information on the promised Redfall credit program, which will be offered to players who purchased the now-canceled Hero Pass, still hasn't been finalized, but you can register for updates at bethesda.net.
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Andy Chalk
Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.
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