Redfall Dev Mocked By Other Devs Due To Poor Launch

Redfall was one of the most anticipated titles of 2023, but on launch, it disappointed nearly everyone. It received negative reviews on the PC and the Xbox Series S|X versions due to bugs, poor AI, and a 30FPS cap on consoles.

As the launch of Redfall was a disaster for fans, it has also become problematic for the developers. Sadie Boyd, a Senior 2D Artist at Arkane Studios, vented on Twitter, stating that other developers had mocked her after the poor launch.

Why it matters: Redfall was not a great showing for the first big AAA Xbox title released in 2023. It has also been reported that Microsoft believed that it would be a disaster, and it quickly became the lowest-rated Arkane Studios game.

I did not anticipate my own peers, friends, or colleagues openly mocking and being gleeful of a difficult launch.

Delighting in the failure of others, no matter how you feel towards a company, seems mean spirited.

I feel sad, confused, and disappointed.

— Sadie Boyd (@Wonder_Phoenix) May 4, 2023

With more time and polish, Redfall could have launched with fewer issues. However, a poor release should not be used to mock another developer’s work.

It is also unfair to put the blame on a single developer. AAA games are made by hundreds of developers working together, and a poor release is often a failure on everybody’s part.

Plenty of games like Cyberpunk 2077 have suffered from a similar situation in the past but have been vastly improved over time. The same could also happen with Redfall with future updates.

On the other hand, it is also understandable that many have criticized the game. Redfall has joined the 15 worst-reviewed games on Steam, and the general perception around the game has not improved much in the past few days.

Nonetheless, it is sad to see other developers ridiculing their peers when broken releases have unfortunately become common in the AAA gaming industry.

Following the game’s release, Phil Spencer also took the blame, expressing his concern over the game. As such, fans are now hoping that Redfall will be a lesson for Xbox and that Starfield will not suffer from similar issues.