Redfall’s rocky launch has led to some retrospection for Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty. He now knows that Microsoft must do better in setting expectations for acquired studios, like Arkane, on what it means to make first-party games.
Booty opened up to IGN about what he’s learned after Redfall released with mixed reviews and a laundry list of bugs–including GameSpot’s Redfall review saying “it should not have been released yet.” The Xbox executive said it started with conveying to new teams under his watch how becoming first-party means “they exist in a different spotlight.”
“And it is my responsibility, our responsibility as the wider Xbox org, to make sure they understand that, and then to make sure that they’re set up and that we set expectations appropriately,” Booty said. “… If I were to look back, where I feel a little remiss on the Redfall thing, that project was started before we acquired ZeniMax, and I think we could have done a better job of onboarding them.”