By Tom Phillips
Publication Date: 2026-08-19 14:46:00
Legendary game designer Harvey Smith has said he pleaded with Microsoft to let his team release one final patch to improve the poorly-received Xbox console exclusive Redfall — even though he had been “fired.”
First-person vampire shooter Redfall launched to negative reviews in 2023, and proved to be the final project for Arkane Austin, the Texas-based team behind 2017’s Prey, which also worked on Dishonored and its sequel.
Smith, who served as lead game designer on 2000’s Deus Ex, then creative director of Dishonored and Dishonored 2, found himself out of work in May 2024 when it was announced that Arkane Austin would be shut down, with ongoing work on Redfall’s post-launch roadmap canned as a result.
But the studio had been hard at work on another patch for the game, version 1.4, which would address numerous player issues and bugbears. Speaking to The Game Business, Smith revealed for the first time that he had to negotiate with Microsoft to be…
