Arkane has confirmed that Redfall was originally in development for PS5

Arkane has said that Redfall was originally in development for PS5 as well as Xbox Series X/S and PC.

While perhaps unsurprising, Arkane Austin studio director Harvey Smith has now confirmed that plans for a PlayStation release were cancelled after Microsoft acquired Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax Media.

“We were acquired by Microsoft and it was a change with capital C,” he told IGN France (via Google Translate). “They came in and they said ‘No PlayStation 5, we’re focusing on Xbox, PC and the Game Pass’.”

Development of Redfall had started a year prior to the $7.5 billion acquisition.

“It’s not very serious, it’s even a good decision I think,” Smith said of dropping the PS5 version. “[It helps to] support Game Pass and have one less platform to worry about, one less complexity.”

He added: “Game Pass has a ton of players, it could become our biggest game thanks to 30 million, where I can’t remember the exact number, of subscribers.”

Microsoft recently announced a Redfall release date of May 2, 2023, alongside details of a special edition and pre-order bonuses.

In another newly published interview, Smith said Arkane is “looking into” removing the requirement for solo players to always be connected online.

Further reading

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Fear not, Arkane fans: Redfall is a utterly engrossing single-player experience

While fans may be disappointed at its less system-driven approach, Redfall is shaping up to be the studio’s strongest shooter to date

Redfall is an open-world FPS which is playable solo or with a team of up to four-players in co-op. It sees players battling to defeat a legion of vampires who have cut the quaint island town of Redfall, Massachusetts off from the outside world.

In a new Redfall preview, we called it an “utterly engrossing single-player experience” which “is shaping up to be the studio’s strongest shooter to date”.