Redfall might not be always-online, after all

Redfall might ditch its always-online requirement, if the devs at Arkane can find a workaround.

Speaking to Eurogamer in a new interview, Arkane Austin studio director Harvey Smith spoke on the recent criticisms of Redfall's always-online requirement. When the feature was revealed earlier this year, even requiring an internet connection in single player, fans weren't pleased, and some even went as far as to boycott the game.

"We listen. And we have already started work to address this in the future," Smith told Eurogamer. "We have to do some things like encrypt your save games and do a bunch of UI work to support it. And so we are looking into - I'm not supposed to promise anything - but we're looking into and working actively toward fixing that in the future."

Smith says the always-online requirement isn't anything "insidious," but instead meant to provide real-time and accurate feedback to the developers at Arkane. If everyone's falling off a ladder, for example, Redfall's online connection will let the developers know, Smith says, prompting them to go out and tweak the ladder's code to fix the issue.

The Arkane Austin director says he's been listening to the feedback with "empathy," and understands it potentially eliminates players with a bad internet connection from enjoying Redfall. There's no guarantee the always-online requirement will be changed for Redfall, but at least the team at Arkane Austin is actively paying attention to the community.

We recently got the chance to go hands-on with Redfall for the first time, and experience Arkane's take on an open-world shooter. Head over to our full Redfall preview for an extensive look into how the game plays.

You can also look at our upcoming Xbox Series X games guide for a detailed look at all the games coming to the new-gen console within the next few months.