Redfall has a strong start on Xbox despite negative reception

Redfall has seemingly had a strong start on Xbox consoles, despite a middling reception.

Launching just last week, Redfall was met with mixed critical reception, and players weren't kind to Arkane's new game either, branding it a disappointment. Despite this though, it looks like Arkane's shooter has had a strong start to life, as True Achievements is reporting that Redfall is the second-biggest Xbox game launch of 2023, sitting only behind Atomic Heart.

For the week ending May 7, True Achievements reports Redfall is the third-biggest game on Xbox systems in terms of pure gameplay time. It sits behind Fortnite in the pole position and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in second place, two undisputed juggernauts in terms of player base and player retention across all systems, let alone Xbox consoles.

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Redfall has the advantage of launching through the Xbox Game Pass subscription service though, which has no doubt helped both it and Atomic Heart have really strong launches on Xbox consoles. It seems despite the negative buzz, Xbox users were intrigued enough to give Arkane's latest effort a shot.

This is honestly a big surprise for Arkane's new game. Redfall's launch clearly didn't go to plan, as even Xbox head Phil Spencer acknowledged he was "disappointed" with the game's launch, and lamented Xbox not being able to step in with Redfall earlier in its development to help Arkane develop its Unreal Engine-made game and steer it away from technical issues.

Our own Redfall review, which awarded Arkane's new game with 2.5 out of five stars, called it "rushed, unfinished, and unsatisfying." Whilst Arkane's latest has really intriguing vampire designs and an interesting world to explore, we deemed its limited story and litany of bugs really let Redfall down. 

Check out our Redfall Underboss Skulls guide if you're wondering what they are, and how you can acquire the powerful tools.