‘Redfall’ devs give a masterclass on how to shut down live service games

Video games come and go, as do the developers who make them. While Bethesda’s open world co-op shooter, Redfall, didn’t quite get the reception many had hoped (okay, it was a colossal failure), there’s still a lesson to be learned. Now, as the defunct Arkane Austin prepares its swan song with one last Redfall update, the studio has shown the entire gaming industry how to properly shut down a live service game.

Arkane’s rise and Red-fall

The story of Redfall is a modern-day gaming tragedy. When it was first unveiled, there was a heap of excitement buzzing around a brand new IP from publisher Bethesda. Blending elements of Back 4 Blood with Borderlands, the initial trailers looked promising. However, all the hype was sucked out of the room the moment Redfall launched, revealing it to be a hollow shell of what was shown. The game was a complete mess, with buggy performance, inferior enemy AI, and boringly limited loot.

Things were so bad, the legendary developer behind the game, Arkane Austin – the same group responsible for critically acclaimed titles like Prey, Dishonored, and Deathloop – was given the ultimate boot for Redfall’s sorry state one year later.

Now, there are many groups to blame for Redfall’s failure. Microsoft has admitted to having had no involvement with the game’s development; they had no idea what state Redfall was in, even as it neared launch, and that was a mistake. Arkane Austin was also under a lot of pressure by former owner, ZeniMax,to produce a live service game, which it ultimately didn’t want to create in the first place.

But none of that is what this article’s about. Instead, let’s look at what Arkane Austin plans to do with its final update: rip out Redfall’s live service heart and make it a permanent offline game.

Live service’s online linchpin

Live service games are all built using the same general formula. They release with a swathe of initial content, and then devs iterate on the experience, providing future updates funded by selling players extra add-ons, like character skins, special weapons, and battle passes. This constant feed of new content and monetization can help a live service game survive for years, if not decades, when done right. The Fortnites and World of Warcrafts of the world rake in billions per year, with a capital B.

But for every live service title that stands the test of time, many more fizzle away into oblivion, forcing devs to end support and move on to other projects. Since live service games rely on continuous income, the online servers powering many of these games shut down indefinitely, cutting players off from their purchased content and save data. These titles simply die and disappear.

For this reason, I’m personally not a fan of the live service or freemium game model. I believe that players should always have access to the games and content they purchase, even after the developer closes up shop. But that’s just not the way things are...until now.

The new status quo for live service shutdowns

Arkane Austin is breaking the typical live-service-shutdown mold in a big way. As part of its final update, Arkane will allow players to keep Redfall and experience it offline without any need for additional monetization. That means that while Arkane Austin takes their final bow, Redfall won’t die with them. Despite its live service underpinnings, it will survive and be made playable indefinitely.

This is exactly the same model all developers should adopt when closing a live service game for good. With the exception of certain MMO titles that absolutely cannot function without a data connection, an offline mode should be built into these games and be made executable the moment the servers shut down.

It’s quite common now that all live service games eventually come to an end, and when they do, players should get to keep the time, effort, and money spent – not just for the sake of game preservation as a historical record (which is extremely important), but so that players can continue to enjoy the worlds they’ve explored and memories they’ve made for decades to come.

Offline playability, even in the worst case scenario that the developer, itself, shuts down for good, should be the gold standard in the gaming industry, and Arkane Austin just proved that it’s possible.