Arkane's founding director left Bethesda because they 'didn't want to do the type of games that we wanted'. That's how Redfall came about.

Raphael Colantonio, Arkane's founder, left the company in 2017 after the release of Prey. He founded Arkane in 1999. Prey was a great immersive sim but it didn't get the attention Bethesda hoped for. This led to Arkane making some major changes. Colantonio explained to Jeremy Peel, in a wide-ranging conversation, that he did not want to make games that Bethesda demanded.

Colantonio explains: "All I can say is that part the reason I left Bethesda is because they didn't want to make the games we wanted to create." He compares Arkane to studios such as Larian and FromSoftware. "Those are people who have been doing the thing they know how to do over and over until it hits really hard." Arkane was required to do that, according to me.

Bethesda decided that this strategy was no longer part of the plan after disappointing sales.

Bethesda was looking for more live service games. While this was partially retracted after the Microsoft acquisition of Arkane Austin, the wheels had already been set in motion. The wheels that would eventually produce Redfall, Arkane Austin’s vampire-themed FPS that wasn't well received.

Colantonio, who had already left Arkane by that time, can't pinpoint the exact reason for what went wrong. However, there are probably many.

"There are so many things that influence [a game]," says he. "Someone from management, budget cuts, someone from marketing, a change in direction about the market in general, you lost one your main developers." There are many factors that can be at play.

Redfall was a disaster from the start. The team did manage to fix a lot of problems with patches, but it didn't really resonate. The last update came in May and included a farewell note from Arkane, following Microsoft's closure of the studio.

It read: "We're grateful for the millions who have joined us." Arkane Austin would like to thank all players for playing and enjoying our games. It has been an honor delivering these experiences.

Colantonio: "I don't have all the answers, but I do know that these people are good. "I liked the game personally. I played after the patches. I waited because I could see that everyone was agitated. It's not what you expect from Arkane, but it wasn't what they were set to do. It was a bit like a Catch 22 for Harvey [Smith] as well as the team.

Colantonio is still working on immersive simulations, just as he did in the Arkane era. Cowboy RPG Weird West was released in 2022. Now WolfEye has begun work on a first-person game that will go back to Colantonio’s roots.