Microsoft is Refunding Some Redfall Players Following Arkane Austin's Closure

Microsoft has started to issue refunds to some Redfall players following the closure of Arkan Austin, among other studios, in compensation for the game's final act which cost $30.

The situation comes after the company's surprising decision in May 2024 to close down several Bethesda-adjacent studios. This affected Dishonored and Redfall developers Arkane Austin being forced to shut down before finishing the latter game's promised content.

Microsoft Refunds Redfall Players

Microsoft is Refunding Some Redfall Players Following Arkane Austin's Closure — Microsoft has started to refund some Redfall players for the unreleased DLC of the game following the closure of Arkane Austin.
(Photo : Arkane Austin / Screenshot taken from Steam)

The people who purchased the Hero DLC, which was never released in the actual game, are now being given their money back a month later. The latest development isn't the most recent unfortunate event for Redfall.

Arkane Austin, better known for its amazing immersive sims such as Dishonored and Prey, did not attain the expected level of success with its vampiric co-op shooter. Redfall initially launched with a lot of issues and while the studios continued to work on the game for a year, its potential was never realized.

But when Microsoft announced the closure of several studios, it came with it a promise to give a "make-good" offer. This was that players who bought Redfall's Bite Back version were supposed to get some sort of recompense. But at the time, what this was remained much of a mystery, according to Kotaku.

Now, it was revealed that this is actually players getting refunded for their purchase of the never-released DLC, whether it was the deluxe edition or through a Game Pass upgrade.

It was reported that many players had already seen the money go back into their accounts. Bethesda confirmed this was actually happening.

Based on the studio's support site, players who did not buy the Hero DLC from any of the following sources, Xbox, Microsoft, Epic, or Steam, have to file a ticket with Bethesda.

For those who bought the physical edition, the studio said that you will have to contact your retailer to request a refund or store credit for the Bite Back DLC.

Arkane Austin's Closure

The situation comes as Arkane Austin was able to put out one final update for Redfall before Microsoft's closure announcement. This particular patch let people play the game offline and it was said that a lot of effort went into this update.

The launch struggles that Redfall faced ultimately led to executives such as Phil Spencer and Matt Booty addressing the issue of Xbox's own role in the matter. Pete Hines, Bethesda Softworks' previous publishing head, reassured players last year that Arkane Austin will not give up on Redfall, said IGN.

Redfall's downfall came as it is a commercial and critical flop and was criticized for a general lack of polish and uninspired gameplay. It supported up to a four-player co-op mode and the setting was on a fictional island community that is besieged by vampires and other similar mutants.

While the game's initial marketing cycle showed that Redfall had some promise, the full game immediately fell far short of expectations. Microsoft was able to acquire the rights to the game's studio sometime in mid-development as part of its Bethesda / ZeniMax purchase, according to WindowsCentral.