26 March 2023 , 11:00
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Cancelling the PS5 version of Redfall proves that Microsoft’s only solution to resolve its Xbox-exclusive drought is to acquire previously independent development studios.
Redfall is an upcoming FPS that sits right along Starfield as one of the biggest Xbox exclusives set to release in 2023. Only… that wasn’t always the case. You see, back when Bethesda sat separately from Microsoft as its own independent publisher, it continued developing games for most modern platforms – such as PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC – with the intention of releasing its games as widely as possible. Redfall was one of them, before it was ripped away from PlayStation.
So says Harvey Smith, one of Arkane Studios’ most respected creative leads and co-director on Redfall, in a new interview with IGN France. “We were acquired by Microsoft and it was a change with capital C,” he said. “They came in and they said ‘No PS5, we're focusing on Xbox, PC and the [Xbox] Game Pass’”. He essentially confirms that Redfall was at one time intended as a multiplatform release (like most other Bethesda games before it) until Microsoft swooped in, bought Bethesda and cancelled the PS5 version.
On the face of it, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it makes perfect business sense. Console platforms have leant on platform-exclusive titles to make theirs the most tempting to existing and prospective players alike. Why have Xbox and PlayStation making two different consoles at all if they’re just going to have the same games, right? The problem is that PlayStation continues to have banner years with the likes of God of War Ragnarok, Returnal and Horizon Forbidden West all launching to critical acclaim – just in the PS5 generation alone. Xbox has been limping along.
Developing AAA games on the scale that Xbox needs obviously takes a lot of time, so in an attempt to solve this exclusivity drought Microsoft has been buying up studios. Bethesda was the most expensive, highest-profile example to date until it announced at the start of last year that it would also look to be acquiring Call of Duty owner Activision Blizzard. It’s been locked in a battle to have regulators approve its proposed $68.7 billion acquisition ever since.
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Sucking up exclusives
Redfall being an Xbox exclusive after Bethesda came under Microsoft’s ownership wasn’t surprising, primarily because until now it was assumed that the game was incubated following the deal. However, Smith’s new comments prove that Redfall was at least in pre-production well before it was welcomed into the Xbox family, and so a PS5 version at some point existed. Microsoft is well within its right to cancel anything it likes, but doing this runs contrary to Head of Xbox Phil Spencer’s previous claims that, as per Kotaku, “this deal was not done to take games away from another player base.”
But that’s now exactly what’s happened, with the PS5 version of Redfall being internally cancelled to render the game an Xbox-exclusive game – something the platform desperately needs. This means Spencer either wasn't telling the whole truth whilst giving that interview or plans unexpectedly changed along the way. Either way, it’s just another instance of Xbox going against its own word, largely because it’s struggling to maintain pace with PlayStation in terms of incubating and developing its own AAA exclusives.
Some players might point to both Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo as examples of the contrary. After all, both games were developed by Bethesda studios and released only on PS5 at first, before coming to Xbox later on once the timed exclusivity period had lapsed. The difference between this instance and Redfall, however, is that Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo were already publicised as PS5 games before Microsoft’s Bethesda takeover, while Redfall was unannounced.
And sure, PlayStation has been on a bit of a studio purchasing spree itself as of late. It’s been forced into competing with Microsoft’s acquisitions, so it’s more likely an attempt to ensure that not every independent studio left on the table eventually gets swallowed up by its rival. If Microsoft could develop AAA Xbox exclusive quicker using its own studios, such as The Initiative, Rare and Compulsion Games to name a few, it’d be less inclined to throw its financial weight around. The Xbox Series X|S era started great with Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5, but it’s since dried up.
Microsoft has since responded to online criticism regarding its cancellation of Redfall PS5 in a new Eurogamer statement that reads “we haven't pulled any games from PlayStation” before going on to cite Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo as examples.
As discussed earlier, though, that’s hardly a legitimate argument considering those games relate to exclusivity contracts Bethesda entered into with PlayStation long before it was purchased by Microsoft. Acquisition or not, Bethesda had an agreement with Sony to deliver those two games as timed exclusives for PS5, and Microsoft couldn’t argue against it.
For better or worse, 2023 has the potential to be the biggest yet by way of Xbox Series X|S exclusives. It’s just a shame that for this reality to be the case, rather than develop its own AAA games internally using studios it already owns, Microsoft has had to buy its way to maintaining pace with PlayStation rather than nurture first-party studio talent slowly over time – as was the case with Starfield and now Redfall.