‘Redfall’ will only track campaign progress for co-op session’s host

After the first segment of in-game footage was shown at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, Arkane studio game designer Harvey Smith told IGN about co-operative game save progress will work in the game (transcription via Eurogamer).

“Whoever hosts the session, or whoever initiates the session… their progress is persistent for them,” explained Smith. “But [for] other people, it’s not. In terms of what missions you’ve unlocked and such, the host, their progression matters.”

“If you sign on with a friend and they’re halfway through the game, and you play the second half of the game with them and then you need to go back and you want to play on your own, you’ll be starting at the beginning of the campaign with a character,” Smith explained further.

On the decision to avoid sharing the host’s progress, Smith argued it would cause “this weird problem of ‘Oh, I’ve been playing with you, but now I am going to play on my own. So, I start playing through the campaign, but then I start hitting missions that I’ve already done’. So, for the flow of things, you want to have to redo those […] the story would be very confusing if you got to mission eight and it said, ‘Skip this one because you’ve already done it’”.

Smith also shared that players will also be “bound” to the character they choose for the rest of the game, though “any weapons you find, any levels you gain… all of that is persistent.”

While fans have been vocal about their displeasure regarding this feature, Redfall’s recent delay to 2023 means Arkane Austin may have the time to rectify this mechanic, and ensure that mission progress and completion applies to all players in a game, and not just the host.

In other news, an update to the Warzone map will include “better visibility” for players and the return of Storage Town.