Dismal Redfall player count is more bad news for Microsoft

Dismal Redfall player count is more bad news for Microsoft
Arkane

Written by 

Tom Chapman

Published 

5th May 2023 10:50

We've heard of rough starts, but yeesh, Arkane's Redfall is getting it in the neck like the fangs of Dracula. Although the vampiric looter shooter was shifted from its original release of 2022, there's a general feeling that Redfall simply wasn't ready to be released in its current state.

Xbox overlord Phil Spencer has pretty much said this in an apology for releasing Redfall as is, although there are behind-the-scenes rumbles that Microsoft is getting the blame when it shouldn't. Either way, there's a mad scramble with Arkane promising it'll work to make Redfall better.

Redfall's player count makes for grim reading

Redfall Steam player count
Click to enlarge
SteamDB

The problem is, by the time Redfall is firing on all cylinders, there might not be anyone left to play. Although it's early days, the Redfall player count isn't exactly blowing us away or threatening to topple Call of Duty

As Redfall is fresh out of the crypt and one of those Game Pass day one releases, you might expect a booming player count - at least out of morbid curiosity. Over on SteamDB, the numbers speak for themselves, with Redfall currently boasting just 764 players. No, we haven't missed two zeros off the end. 

Worryingly, the title has an all-time player peak of a subpar 6,124 and a 24 peak of 1,807. Looking at other games, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor currently has 15,391 and a 24 peak of 35,000. Even the troubled Forspoken has an all-time peak of 12,579. 

Should you believe the Redfall figures?

Redfall gameplay trailer
Click to enlarge
Arkane

Before we go splashing Redfall with holy water and writing it off as a complete flop, let's remember it's Game Pass release. As we saw with High on Life breaking records for the subscription service, a lot of Microsoft fans play their games this way.

If you're playing on PC, chances are most of you are playing Redfall via Game Pass instead of Steam. Then again, it's nowhere to be found in the platform's most popular games, suggesting that you simply aren't playing. Either way, it doesn't paint a pretty picture of the title's current predicament. 

Perhaps the biggest problem is that Redfall doesn't allow for online matchmaking. We're hardly surprised there are just 764 of you playing right now when you have to squad up with your mates to blast the undead to smithereens. Perhaps those of you playing accidentally clicked Redfall instead of Red Dead Redemption

Tom Chapman
About the author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
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