The developers of the upcoming horror shooter Redfall revealed that a PS5 version of the game was in development early on, but ultimately canceled. In a recent interview with French media, one of Arkane Austin's lead developers gave a simple and blunt explanation as to why Redfall will not be on PS5, and the news came as little shock to social media.
While the lack of a PS5 port may not be the most surprising news regarding Redfall, a recent post from game director Harvey Smith of Arkane Austin stated that Redfall is considering the potential removal of the always-online requirement for single-player mode. While the option is not guaranteed and would be a post-launch feature if it gets tested and approved, the development team for Redfall was aware of the criticism and wariness of players that have turned their backs on projects that require always-online connections for single-player modes, such as the recent scorn drawn by Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. However, such ire towards Arkane Austin for the lack of a PS5 port for Redfall was not there, and the reasoning was taken as little surprise.
According to an interview with IGN France, Smith said that Redfall never got a PS5 port fully off the ground because it was due to ZeniMax, the parent company of Bethesda and Arkane, being bought out by Microsoft in 2021 and becoming a subsidiary of Xbox Game Studios. As a result, Smith said that the change meant no PS5 ports projects after Deathloop and that the team at Arkane Austin was ordered to focus more on PC, Xbox consoles, and Xbox Game Pass. Redfall will be a Day One release on Xbox Game Pass when the game launches in just over a month from the time of writing.
Social media expressed little shock at Redfall's lack of PS5 support, with some calling it a given that a Microsoft subsidiary would focus more on its own ecosystem unless stated otherwise. While the news concerning Redfall may not affect other Bethesda titles such as The Elder Scrolls 6, only time will tell if titles such as Redfall and Starfield will be just the start of Bethesda's full commitment to the Xbox ecosystem.
Though Redfall will not be coming to PS5, it will feature support for Nvidia DLSS 3 on PC at launch for supported Nvidia graphics cards. Between the revelation of a canceled PS5 port and the potential backtracking of a controversial feature, the news cycle surrounding Redfall has been a roller coaster for prospective players. It remains to be seen if players will bite at the chance to play Redfall at launch, or if any of the recent news surrounding the title will give them pause.
Redfall launches on May 2 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Push Square