Xbox head on Arkane Austin staying open after Redfall flop: "That is the plan right now"

Xbox doesn't plan on shuttering Arkane Austin any time soon despite the studio's latest effort, Redfall, failing to impress critics and players alike.

In the wake of Redfall's critically panned release, some feared that such a flop could potentially be enough to sink the whole operation. However, in a new Axios interview, Microsoft Studios boss Matt Booty confirmed that, at least for now, Arkane Austin will keep doing what it's doing and making new content for Redfall.

Responding directly to Arkane Austin fans who, in Axios' words, "[hope] the studio will stay open despite the game's initial reception," Booty said, "That is the plan right now. They are hard at work on updates and continued content for Redfall."

So there you have it, Arkane Austin isn't going anywhere, at least for now. Despite admitting that he feels "accountable" for Redfall's poor reception, Booty said the game continues to get "good play" on Xbox Game Pass. "It was a miss, but how much of a miss?" he said. "I want to support them to be able to keep working to deliver the game they had in mind."

Around the time of Redfall's launch, Xbox head Phil Spencer had vaguely similar thoughts about Arkane's vampire shooter, saying he felt "disappointed" by the response while committing to improving the experience. As for the folks who actually worked directly on the game, reports have indicated some devs were hoping Microsoft's acquisition of publisher ZeniMax would kill the project altogether. Yikes.

Here's our Redfall review in case you want to read our own impressions of the game.