Bad news for those looking forward to Redfall. The ambitious co-op shooter looks like it won't be launching with a more framerate-friendly performance mode.
Redfall, launching on May 2, might be better played on PC. Arkane Studios' latest won't feature a 60fps option at launch. At least on Xbox Series X|S. Instead, only a Quality setting will be available. That's 4K 30fps on Xbox Series X and 1440p 30fps on Xbox Series S.
The announcement was made via Redfall's official Twitter account, leaving fans in the replies more than a little dismayed. The silver lining is that a 60fps Performance mode will be patched into the game, albeit at an unspecified later date.
Redfall is launching on Xbox consoles with Quality mode only:Xbox Series X: 4K 30 FPSXbox Series S: 1440p 30 FPS60 FPS Performance mode will be added via game update at a later date. pic.twitter.com/NLaGsMbwdWApril 12, 2023
Dropping the ball... and the frames
It's a massive shame that Redfall won't launch with a more stable 60fps mode. It seems to be a bit of a trend as of late on console, as another recent co-op game, Gotham Knights, similarly released without any kind of performance mode.
While 30fps is still a perfectly playable framerate, it will undoubtedly impact Redfall's fast-paced gameplay. First-person shooters typically work best at a higher framerate of at least 60fps. Some, like Doom Eternal, even offer 120fps performance modes on console for compatible displays.
Likely, Redfall's performance options need a little more time to test. And that's understandable; it looks like it'll be a hectic co-op game, especially when a maximum of four players are thrown into the mix with potentially dozens of on-screen enemies, objects and particle effects.
Hopefully, when the update does release, Redfall's performance mode won't drop the resolution too much. Ideally, it'll be somewhere along the lines of 1440p on Xbox Series X and 1080p on Series S. The cheaper console is certainly capable of better. Still, Arkane may err on the side of caution here for a more stable performance overall.
