Redfall gets a new gun and performance improvements in third major patch

Six month after its initial release, developer Arkane’s beleaguered vampire shooter Redfall has received a third major patch, this one primarily focusing on performance improvements and fixes, although it does add a tiny bit of new content in the form of a gun.

Specifically, Redfall players now have access to the Basilisk, an Unrivaled Sniper Rifle that can charge the first bullet in a full magazine with UV power to petrify Vampires. It can be found in locations where Unrivaled items spawn, but is most likely to drop from Bellwether-themed containers in the open-world or vampire nests.

Beyond the Basilisk, Redfall’s latest update brings bug fixes, balance improvements, and more – as detailed in its patch notes – touching on all aspects of the game, including AI and NPCs, gameplay and missions, heroes, UI, audio, and accessibility. Performance and stability is also a focus, with Arkane promising “various performance fixes related to FPS drops and stuttering.”

The bad news for Redfall players – specifically the ones who forked out an additional $30 USD to get access to its Hero Pass – is that its two previously promised post-launch heroes don’t look to be anywhere close to releasing. Arkane say it’s currently “continuing development” of the Hero Pass, and notes it won’t have any further information to share on Redfall’s additional heroes and future updates until “later next year”.

Whether there’ll still be much interest in Redfall by then remains to be seen; last month, its concurrent Steam player count dropped to a low of three – less than the number of players needed to form a full co-op party – and it’s failed to climb above 40 since then.

Despite dwindling player numbers, Arkane finally made good on its pre-launch promise to introduce a 60fps mode on Xbox Series X/S last month. Unfortunately, Digital Foundry wasn’t all that impressed, noting the update was far from “the redemption story we were hoping for”.