There’s a part of me that sympathizes with Arkane Austin and Xbox - Spencer said the company’s internal mock reviews predicted a much better reception than the game received.

Redfall simply wasn’t what anyone wanted. It’s rough, because a four-player co-op title like Redfall already feels like it’s from another time, and no amount of delays would change the fundamentals. He acknowledged the game was a disappointment, but added that a delay wouldn’t have changed much as Xbox didn’t wish to interfere with Arkane’s creative vision. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer appeared on Kinda Funny’s XCast to speak about Redfall’s poor reception (as well as the CMA blocking the Activision acquisition), and was refreshingly candid. More specifically, it’s casting doubt on Xbox’s viability as a games publisher and console maker. While it’s not the end of the world for a game to be a disappointment, the tepid-bordering on-spicy reception to Redfall has implications for the future of Xbox. The “Left 4 Dead but with vampires” co-op FPS was hyped up by Microsoft, only to (Red)fall flat when it walked through the door.

Redfall is finally out, and let’s just say the gaming community was not impressed with it. Missed the GamesBeat Summit excitement? Don't worry! Tune in now to catch all of the live and virtual sessions here.

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