“Phil Spencer Admits Disappointment with Redfall Launch: What Can Microsoft Learn?”

Developers from the Arkane studio have not been having a happy time in recent days. Putting aside the fact that Redfall, along with a few missteps in communication, is the result of their own work, the reception of the game has been very negative with few exceptions, and the authors have faced overwhelming verdicts in reviews and player comments. Similar to many other titles before and undoubtedly since, the developers have a chance to remove the most glaring flaws and bring the game to a better level, but each product usually only has one chance to impress, and it becomes obvious that players have lost interest very quickly. It was therefore only a matter of time before someone from the management of the studio, Bethesda or Microsoft directly commented on the unhappy state, and the first to break the wall of silence was Phil Spencer himself. In an interview with Kinda Funny Games magazine, he openly admitted that he is very disappointed with the result and takes some of the blame on himself.

“There is nothing more difficult for me than to let the Xbox community down and watch them lose confidence and be disappointed. I’m disappointed too, I’m angry at myself,” Spencer said when asked how he feels about the situation around Redfall. As expected, he admitted that the reactions of the players and the media were not what they wanted, however, he admitted that it was not only the game itself, but also the communication mentioned in the introduction, which could affect the expectations and subsequently the acceptance of the game. “I remember the 60fps announcement that we weren’t going to have 60fps from day one. That was our completely justified blow to the chin. Already several weeks in advance,” he recalled a very strange message from the developers.

Even then, players were wondering why an exclusive title for Xbox could not handle 60 fps at least in performance mode on a console that is very solidly equipped in terms of hardware, and they also pointed to the poor image of both Arkane and Redfall in the relentless competition of other titles. Was this the moment for Phil Spencer to recognize impending disaster and order another delay? From today’s perspective, it seems like the obvious way to go, but for reasons that the Xbox captain didn’t comment on, the studio, publisher, and Microsoft didn’t make that decision. the brake apply. Performance mode arrives instead until sometime after the game is releasedwhich clearly declares that the developers did not have time for proper optimization, which is reflected in the game anyway.

I remember the announcement regarding 60 fps that we won’t have 60 fps from day one. That was our completely justified blow to the chin.

Spencer then, in line with what we might expect on a diplomatic level, only added that he is trying to look at the whole matter as something that can make Microsoft stronger with its studies. “What can we learn? What can we improve,” asks Spencer rhetorically, and there is a sense that some changes in the background may actually come through. The director of Microsoft’s game division himself says that he will oversee the quality and executive side of things, but denied that he would like to speak to the creative department of the development teams in any way and influence them in what they are working on. “We will continue to work on the game,” he then concluded, confirming that the team is naturally not deaf to feedback and will build on it. That is, including, hopefully, the speedy introduction of the 60 fps mode and the resolution of the biggest bugs.