Redfall: Microsoft Canceled PS5 Version After Bethesda Acquisition, Arkane Director Says

Arkane was developing a PlayStation 5 version of its upcoming first-person vampire shooter, Redfall, before Microsoft acquired Bethesda in 2020. However, following the acquisition, the PS5 version of the game was canceled by Microsoft, according to Arkane director Harvey Smith in an interview with IGN France (translated by IGN). 

Discussing this with IGN France, Smith said, “We got bought by Microsoft and that was a huge sea change. They said, ‘No PlayStation 5. Now we’re gonna do Game Pass, Xbox and PC.'”

Smith said Arkane didn’t mind the decision, even if Redfall was originally meant to release on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. 

“Support from Game Pass and having to worry about one less platform, one less complexity,” Smith told IGN France. “And Game Pass has a ton of people that can play. It could be our biggest game ever because of the 30 million Game Pass [members] or whatever that number is.” 

News of this canceled PS5 version of Redfall doesn’t come as much of a surprise. When Redfall was revealed during a 2021 Xbox and Bethesda E3 showcase, it was revealed as an Xbox console exclusive. And considering it’s par for the course for companies like PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo to keep their first-party releases off of competitor consoles, it’s also not surprising Microsoft opted to make Redfall an Xbox exclusive after it acquired Bethesda. 

A spokesperson for Microsoft responded to this story, providing the following statement: 

“We haven’t pulled any games from PlayStation. In fact, we’ve expanded our footprint of games that we’ve shipped on Sony’s PlayStation since our acquisition of ZeniMax, and the first two games we shipped after closing were PlayStation 5 exclusives. We did the same thing since our closing of Minecraft as we extended the reach of that franchise. All of the games that were available on PlayStation when we acquired ZeniMax in March 2021 are still available on PlayStation, and we have continued to do content updates on PlayStation and PC. We have always said that future decisions on whether to distribute ZeniMax games for other consoles will be made on a case-by-case basis.”

Redfall hits Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC on May 2. 

For more about the game, watch the latest Redfall story trailer that introduces some of the vampiric big bass and then watch this gameplay trailer that invites you out to a bloody night on the town. 

[Source: IGN France via IGN]

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