Even Microsoft wasn’t happy with Redfall - I don’t think it was like they decided to release it in that state because of Game Pass
If Redfall was a one-off, I’d agree but a decline of quality is going on for years:
Crackdown 3: mediocre at best
Battletoads 2020: again, mediocre at best
Gears 5: merely “mostly positive” on Steam but hardly a gangbuster
Halo Infinite Campaign: “Mixed” on Steam
Deathloop: “mostly positive”
Those “mostly positive” games are exactly the 7/10 level of quality that can be farted out on a somewhat regular bases while being good enough to justify a GamePass subscription. Redfall with its “mostly negative” (33% are positive) on Steam isn’t that far off Halo Infinite’s “mixed” single player campaign (48% positive). Sure, Microsoft would have wanted Redfall to be better but I still read the releases, especially the hyped ones, more as a getting them out the door because GamePass situation.
Microsoft’s best releases (Pentiment and Hi-Fi Rush) are smaller-scale efforts.
If Redfall was a one-off, I’d agree but a decline of quality is going on for years:
Those “mostly positive” games are exactly the 7/10 level of quality that can be farted out on a somewhat regular bases while being good enough to justify a GamePass subscription. Redfall with its “mostly negative” (33% are positive) on Steam isn’t that far off Halo Infinite’s “mixed” single player campaign (48% positive). Sure, Microsoft would have wanted Redfall to be better but I still read the releases, especially the hyped ones, more as a getting them out the door because GamePass situation.
Microsoft’s best releases (Pentiment and Hi-Fi Rush) are smaller-scale efforts.