Redfall’s Final Update Revamps The Game As Arkane Austin Devs Bid Farewell
Earlier this month, it was announced that Arkane Austin, among a number of other Bethesda-owned studios, was being shuttered by Xbox, meaning that the team responsible for vampire-themed loot shooter Redfall wouldn’t be able to continue supporting the game. The developers were reportedly working on a major update just before the news came down, leading many to believe that it’d never see the light of day. Fortunately, the team was able to wrap up what it had started and today, Redfall’s final update went live.
The update (cheekily dubbed 1.451.3.0 since 0451 is a significant number in the history of immersive sims) introduces an offline mode to Redfall, which was among the most requested features upon the game’s much-maligned launch last spring. There’s also now an option to pause the game in single-player in case you need to take a minute away from the game without fear.
Redfall’s final update also revamps a few of the game’s major systems to be more rewarding and streamlined. The neighborhood system has been retooled and equipped with a new meter called Community Standing, which increases upon “unlocking a new Safehouse, completing Safehouse missions, rescuing civilians, or killing an Underboss.” The community standing meter has six ranks that players can blast through, and there are 39 rewards to be earned from completing all of them.
The updates also introduces elder nests to Redfall which, akin to the heart nests already in the game, are boss-focused arenas that “challenge you to destroy dangerously modified special Vampires.” Completing an elder nest will grant players rewards as well as a temporary buff called a heart shard, which scales in effectiveness to the difficulty of the game. The harder the elder nest encounter, the longer the buff lasts.
Though the patch notes available aren’t complete, the final update also brings new enemy encounters, improvements to enemy AI, a new weapon, accessibility options, and more. As the update’s been promoted, many Arkane Austin developers, including former creative director Harvey Smith, have begun spreading news of its arrival and bidding farewell to Redfall, its dedicated community of players, and fans of Arkane Austin.
Redfall ReVamp (update 1.451) is live, and I should have pointed out that in addition to numerous updates, new encounters, and systems improvements, it includes Offline Mode, with Pause. pic.twitter.com/tIP2rf7g7p
— Harvey Smith (@Harvey1966) May 30, 2024
Another thing I wanted to post. As we were packing up the offices at Arkane Austin, I snapped this, some of the 'design values' posters we made and hung on the wall during Dishonored and Prey. pic.twitter.com/KANXGZlG1R
— Harvey Smith (@Harvey1966) May 30, 2024
Please enjoy the final patch for Redfall 🧛🏻♀️
So many incredible people worked tirelessly to not only preserve our game with offline mode, but to give our players a proper farewell 🧡🖤 https://t.co/xh16I6UCVF— Sadie Boyd (@Wonder_Phoenix) May 30, 2024
please enjoy v1.451 https://t.co/XqWI60B7Ym
— Ben Horne (@_BenHorne) May 30, 2024
Lots of great stuff in here 🧡 https://t.co/hjHLMzBQwO
— Dan Quinn (@_DanQuinn) May 30, 2024
Hate that it has to be this way. Happy that this gets to exist.
Thank you Redfall, for everything. https://t.co/kbs3eLE3j3— Joe L (@Thud_Rogers) May 30, 2024
It was my great joy and pleasure to be part of this journey. From the bottom of my heart, thank you players for believing in Redfall. #biteback https://t.co/HeOUP0Q9fd
— Gweneira 🐉✨ | VTuber | Live2D (@GwenValentineVT) May 30, 2024
Here is the last Redfall update with offline mode and single player pausing. We don't have full patch notes, so I can't list out the full set of accessibility related changes until after I've been able to verify in-game. https://t.co/WZCAYEmsiR
— Lissanna (@restokin) May 30, 2024
So many people worked so hard to make this patch a reality, even after they learned Arkane was closing. I am so immensely proud of the Arkane team and will treasure my time with them forever. https://t.co/uJxxehUnVb
— Steve Powers (@stevepowers) May 30, 2024
For the players! 🤍 https://t.co/idNrhaEeHM
— Amber Hoffman (@stoic_76) May 30, 2024
Some outside developers, including Dinga Bakaba, director of sister studio Arkane Lyon, have also chimed in to congratulate the team on its hard work and pay respects to the studio as it closes.
what a difficult task this must have been, but a wonderful last gesture from a studio that deserved much, much better. https://t.co/WNMjTmd1zf
— David Goldfarb (@locust9) May 30, 2024
Great job to all of those who worked at Arkane Austin and on Redfall! Thank you! https://t.co/2I8yvX0ify
— chris woelfel (@woelfel) May 30, 2024
Time to bite the fuck back!!!
Congratulations to you @Harvey1966 and the team, I know how hard you all work on this and how much it matters to you all to let fans experience this version of the game, and as one of them, I can't wait to get my hands on it!!!
🖤🧡 https://t.co/Cj36aAyCwo— Dinga Bakaba 451 (@DBakaba) May 30, 2024
Redfall’s final update is obviously a bittersweet one. Arkane Austin was clearly in the middle of addressing the concerns that players raised about the game when it launched last year. If the update is any indication, the team was fully ready to overhaul the game and its systems to improve the experience and make Redfall into the game that many hoped it would be. Now, as it pushes one last update out and closes its doors for good, Redfall will never get the shot to reach the height of its ambitions, and it’s nothing short of tragic.
Anyway, thanks for everything.
0451 forever.#Dishonored #Prey #Redfall
Stay tuned for what's next.
❤️❤️❤️— Harvey Smith (@Harvey1966) May 30, 2024