Redfall
GameBy Arkane Studios
Documents about Redfall
Arkane Veterans Harvey Smith and Ben Horne Reunite: “We’re Back to the Games We Love”
The formation of Black Pony Immersive, a new studio founded by Arkane veterans Harvey Smith, Ben Horne, and Ricardo Bare, signals a strategic return to the immersive sim genre.
- Arkane veterans Harvey Smith, Ricardo Bare, and Ben Horne have launched a new independent studio called Black Pony Immersive, which has been operating for one year with a team of 26 people.
- The new studio has secured funding from an unnamed publisher to develop single-player, narrative-driven, first-person immersive sims in the tradition of Deus Ex and Dishonored.
- Harvey Smith noted that the original Dishonored project achieved a return on investment of four to five times its total budget, demonstrating the commercial viability of the immersive sim genre.
Hi-Fi Rush and Other Games Affected by Xbox Shutdowns on Live Streaming
The recent closure of four Xbox-owned studios, including Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, has sparked significant industry debate regarding the metrics used to evaluate game success.
- Despite high critical acclaim and fan support, Hi-Fi Rush generated only 2.7 million hours watched on live-streaming platforms in its first 30 days.
- Hi-Fi Rush's live-streaming performance trailed other titles, including The Evil Within 2 (7.6 million hours), Redfall (3.3 million hours), and Forspoken (3.9 million hours) during their respective first 30-day windows.
- Xbox announced the closure of four Bethesda studios in May 2024, including Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, citing a need to reallocate resources despite having acquired the studios only three years prior in 2021.
Showtime: A Look Ahead to not-E3 2023
This analysis examines the industry landscape leading into the 2023 summer showcase season, commonly referred to as not-E3.
- Embracer Group's stock price plummeted by over 45% following the collapse of a $2 billion strategic partnership that had been in development for seven months.
- Ubisoft plans to increase the headcount of its Assassin’s Creed division by 40% over the next few years, building on an existing team of 2,000 employees.
- PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst has confirmed that Sony currently has a dozen live-service games in development.
Jedi Survivor: Performance and Sales Analysis
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor dominated the global gaming market during its late April 2023 launch, securing the top position on PlayStation 5 and the Epic Games Store.
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor achieved top-tier commercial status on PlayStation 5 and the Epic Games Store at its April 2023 launch, despite receiving 'Mostly Negative' Steam reviews due to technical optimization issues.
- The PC version of Jedi: Survivor struggled with stuttering and low framerates on high-end hardware, reaching 44,000 concurrent users (CCU) while highlighting a broader industry trend of instability in next-gen console ports.
- Indie titles Roots of Pacha and Shadows of Doubt successfully launched in early 2023, both exceeding 3,500 CCU on Steam with 'Very Positive' user reception.
Plus: Age of Wonders 4 Goes Huge on Steam
This analysis examines the commercial performance and market trends of video game releases for the first half of May 2023, focusing primarily on Steam while providing secondary coverage of PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and Epic Games Store (EGS).
- Age of Wonders 4 emerged as a top performer in early May 2023, peaking at 38,000 concurrent users on Steam with over 2,800 positive reviews.
- Redfall underperformed significantly, recording a maximum of 6,100 concurrent users and a 31% positive review rating, indicating poor long-term commercial viability.
- Darkest Dungeon II transitioned to a full Steam release following a successful exclusivity period on the Epic Games Store, where it sold 300,000 units.
Star Burst
The delay of Bethesda’s Starfield and Redfall from 2022 to the first half of 2023 highlights a significant shift in the development expectations for Microsoft’s first-party studios.
- Bethesda has delayed the release of both Starfield and Redfall from 2022 to the first half of 2023.
- The delay leaves Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass with a lack of major first-party titles for the remainder of 2022, highlighting a continued reliance on third-party content to sustain the service.
- While Microsoft's acquisition strategy provides developers with a financial safety net and reduced pressure to meet traditional Q4 release windows, it simultaneously increases expectations for technical quality and stability from studios like Bethesda.
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