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
Fans of Strange Scaffold and publisher Frosty Pop’s apocalyptic Life Eater have another reason to keep coming back to the game, as the much-anticipated Endless Mode is available now. Best of all, it’s a free update!
The new endless mode gives Life Eater players an arena to determine how long they can evade capture while delaying the end of the world. Collect score points called ZEAL by building an airtight procedure around your sacrifices, investigate the lives of countless procedurally generated kidnapping targets, and survive as long as possible in your personal gauntlet of nightmares.
“We’re so excited to expand the playtime of Life Eater with a uniquely dark and intriguing systemic experience,” says Strange Scaffold founder Xalavier Nelson Jr. “You really just terrorize an entire city of people over the span of decades, now, and I can only hope that I don’t come to regret writing that sentence in a press release.”
For those not in the know, Life Eater (check out Aaron’s review here) is a horror fantasy kidnapping simulator where you play as a druid living in suburbia. You serve a dark entity by abducting and sacrificing specific but vaguely described humans every year to stop the apocalypse. Use a unique video editing-inspired interface to discover the intimate lives of your victims, one schedule block at a time. When the time is right, abduct them before authorities find out.
You can snag a copy of Life Eater on Steam.
The Lovecraftian Behemoth in ‘Underwater’ Remains One of the Coolest Modern Monster Reveals
‘Army of Darkness’ – Life-Size Wearable Prop Replica of Ash’s Chainsaw Releasing Soon!
‘Jason Universe’ – Horror Inc. Begins a New Era of the ‘Friday the 13th’ Franchise; Here’s the Plan
7 New Horror Movies Releasing This Week Including ‘The Strangers’ Reboot
First Official ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Makeup Line Open for Pre-Orders
