After Redfall's disastrous launch, it looks like its developer is going back to its roots
Arkane Austin is seemingly making a new immersive sim
It looks like Arkane Austin is headed back to its roots after the Redfall debacle.
Earlier today a new Arkane Austin job listing for a Lead Technical Engineer was spotted by eagle-eyed Twitter users. The job might not at first appear to give anything away about the game it's associated with, but Arkane Austin is after someone who has "familiarity with single player action-RPGs and immersive sims."
If this doesn't sound like the vast majority of Arkane's back-catalog, we don't know what does. Arkane is a studio that's cut its teeth on immersive sims over the past few decades, especially with co-founder Harvey Smith hailing from Looking Glass Studios, which helped pioneer the immersive sim genre with games like Deus Ex.
After Redfall, we can imagine the prospect of Arkane Austin returning to its roots is music to the ears of its long-time fans. Redfall players and Arkane Austin fans were immediately disappointed with the new game when it launched earlier this year, bemoaning the studio going down the path of a live-service shooter.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer said he was "disappointed" by Redfall's reception, but committed to improving the game. A report then claimed Arkane Austin developers hoped that Microsoft acquiring Arkane Austin's parent company would kill the game before it could launch, but an Xbox exec thankfully stated that Arkane Austin would be staying open despite the disappointing launch.
Check out our upcoming Xbox Series X games guide for a look at all the other exclusives for Microsoft's console in the works.
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Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.