Opinion: Redfall deserves better than a Cyberpunk 2077-style launch

gamedeveloper.com:

Bethesda’s upcoming co-op shooter Redfall has had an uneven press cycle. Never has that been clearer than last week, when it was announced on the game’s Twitter that it would only be launching on the Xbox Series X | S with a 30FPS quality mode that prioritizes a high resolution. It will be getting a 60FPS performance mode at an unconfirmed later date. 

This was met poorly by many in the video game community. The consensus was that a first-person shooter launching without a 60FPS option on console is unacceptable and that the game should be delayed until the mode is ready. And I have to agree, but not because Redfall desperately needs to run at a higher framerate. It’s imperative that Redfall , one of the biggest Xbox launches of the year, releases in a complete state to counteract the botched launches of other recent games like Cyberpunk 2077 , Halo Infinite , and Gotham Knights .

Redfall’s marketing hasn’t been what many had hoped. A delay notwithstanding, in a May 2022 IGN interview , creative director Harvey Smith explained that while the game’s campaign would be playable in co-op, story progression would only be tied to the host. So while players will be able to carry over XP and gear, only the party host will be able to check off that they had completed that part of the story. 

Then, the Redfall FAQ was updated following January’s Xbox and Bethesda Developer Direct to say that a constant internet connection was required for single-player. Not everybody has a stable internet connection, especially in rural areas, so not having an offline mode can cut the game off for many people. Then, there are questions as to whether the game will still work if it requires a persistent connection,