Video Games
Microsoft Closes ‘Redfall’ Developer Arkane Austin, ‘The Evil Within’ Developer Tango Gameworks
Bethesada announced today huge cuts to Bethesda’s collection of studios. That includes Redfall developer Arkane Austin, as well as The Evil Within and Ghostwire: Tokyo developer Tango Gameworks. Per IGN, the beleaguered Redfall will have its development ceased, thereby not receiving its promised updates, including an offline mode and new character DLC. Redfall will remain online to play, and Microsoft will provide a “make-good” offer for those who bought the Hero DLC.
The other Arkane studio, Arkane Lyon, which is currently working on Marvel’s Blade, survived the cuts, as did Machine Games, which is currently working on Indiana Jones and The Great Circle. Bethesda Game Studios (Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Starfield) also survived the cuts. DOOM developer id Software was unaffected.
According to IGN, an email to staff sent by Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, had Microsoft blame the cuts on a “reprioritization of titles and resources”.
“These changes are not a reflection of the creativity and skill of the talented individuals at these teams or the risks they took to try new things,” stated Booty. “I acknowledge that these changes are also disruptive to the various support teams across ZeniMax and Bethesda that bring our games to market. We are making these tough decisions to create capacity to increase investment in other parts of our portfolio and focus on our priority games.”
The news leaves The Evil Within and Ghostwire: Tokyo franchises in limbo, despite rumours of sequels for both. Tango Gameworks’ closure comes just over a year after its founder, Shinji Mikami, left the studio. Mikami has since founded a new studio, Kamuy.
— Tango Gameworks (EN) (@TangoGameworks) May 7, 2024
Video Games
Bethesda Confirms Obsidian ‘Fallout’ Project, Announces Remasters of ‘New Vegas’ and ‘Fallout 3’
After last week’s report that Obsidian was pivoting to work on a new Fallout entry, Bethesda Game Studios has confirmed that rumour as part of the publisher’s new roadmap. The new roadmap also includes Fallout 5, which has just entered pre-production, as well as remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.
Along with the Fallout announcements, Bethesda also confirmed that their primary focus will be The Elder Scrolls VI, while 2023’s Starfield will continue to receive new content, along with gameplay improvements and further updates.
“Fallout is one of our biggest priorities today,” reads the announcement. “Fallout 5 remains our long-range destination, and we have multiple Fallout projects in active development right now.
We also know many players want to revisit previous Fallout experiences. While we’re not announcing any dates today, we have been working on remasters for both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.”
As for the Obsidian project, Bethesda stated that they will have more to share regarding the collaboration at a later date.
The message continues, with Bethesda stating that The Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 are being developed on Creation Engine 3, which is the same engine used for Starfield. “[Creation Engine 3] allows our teams to support multiple projects simultaneously with new tools, rendering, and systems that define our games.
Fallout 5 is currently in pre-production. The Elder Scrolls VI is our primary development focus today, with the majority of our team currently working on the next chapter of the franchise. With over 65 million copies sold, players are still exploring Skyrim 15 years later, but we know it’s been a very long wait for the sequel.
The next chapter is on the way. We’re where we planned to be, loving how it looks, and playing it every day.”