Future of Obsidian

[AeonsLegend]

So I don't know about you guys, but the aquisition of Obsidian by Microsoft has me a little worried. I know Obsidian had to do a lot with Kickstarter to actually create some of the games here so perhaps the sale was from financial need, but being part of a large company ultimately can move these subsidiaries into something that will break them down. EA for instance has done the same to other companies before. Now I don't want to say anything bad about Microsoft, especially because the company I work for is also a subsidiary of Microsoft (so does that mean I'm now somehow collegues with Obsidian?  ) 

 

I really like the company I work for, but being part of something larger that can influence your course for good or bad can have major impact. What are your thoughts?

[HoonDing]

Obsidian is finished.

[GrignardTN]

Obsidian is finished.

I like this company too much to allow myself to be that cynical. I'm going to hold off judgement on that until I actually see evidence that something negative will come out of this. I hope the injection of capital will help them make even better games. I'm going to continue to hope.

[Zafar1981]

Its a two way marriage, Obsidian needs a good publisher like Microsoft and MS needs good developers like Obsidian in their arsenal. 

It could end up in a disaster if MS take Obsidian as granted and ask them to make games for live services, loot boxes and micro-transitions.  

It could act as Obsidian is a jewel in the crown of Microsoft if MS pamper team Obsidian and let them do what they are best know for. 

So its all upto MS what they have learned from their past experience because if members of Black Isle can make Obsidian they can also leave Obsidian and make another story driven RPG studio. 

[Wormerine]

Like any marriage it will be good for a year or two and after that it will fall apart and lead to a divorce or to a slow but steady destruction.

 

Just kidding, business aquisitions are nothing like marriages. I hope it will work out for both parties!

[daven]

We can only wait and see. They probably would be finished fairly soon if they were not acquired by Microsoft.

 

How many times can you keep doing a Kickstarter/FIG and keep people on the payroll?

[Calinks]

I read through the other thread and created this account to post in there but I guess here is fine too. 

 

Going by the announcement thread I think I am in the big minority here in the fact that I am  a primarily console gamer as opposed to a PC one. I also have pretty much been an Xbox fan since the first console launched in 2001. That being said, I follow the console landscape pretty closely and would like to share my take on what is going on with Xbox and Obsidian (and Inexile).

 

First, I don't think a lot of you realize that there are a lot of Obsidian fans on console too. I have enjoyed them since KOTOR II and on console they have also release New Vegas (my favorite fallout),  and Alpha Protocol (An underrated game I loved). As a guy who plays Xbox (and Playstation) I am super excited that they have gotten a great talent like Obsidian under their umbrella. Pretty much a dream acquisition if I had to go out and think about where I would like to see the Xbox brand grow from a gaming content perspective. 

 

Now there are lots of concerns and I think most are quite valid. In the industry we have often seen these types of deals go sour. Xbox/Microsoft themselves have obviously had issues and closed down talented studios before. There was an entire, frustrating and devastating period where several Xbox studios were creating kinect games and it was just horrible. Talent squandered on lesser products, like that Fable kinect game.... ugh. 

 

With that said I really do think this will be different (yea very cliche but at least hear me out). Microsoft has really pivoted the Xbox brand and approach. In the early days of Xbox, that division was a huge under dog. They were scrappy, they tried a lot of things and found some success, I had some grand times on the OG Xbox and it was largely seen as a joke. The 360 pretty much blew up for them and did extremely well but they stopped doing so many of the things that got them there, mainy they stopped investing in making games/software. By the time the Xbox One came on the scene they were bereft of in house talent and Sony was ready to fire on all cylinders, Nintendo too.

 

Since Phil Spencer took over a few years ago they have changed course. I believe the future they are steering towards is one that revolves around streaming game and subscription services. Basically the "Netflix of gaming." They have already made strides here with gamepass, which is on Xbox and cost 10 bucks a month. You get a library of roughly 100 games to download and play its a really nice bang for the buck.

 

I believe gamepass is their first foray into this netflix of gaming goal they are trying to achieve and if you want to be netflix you need to have compelling original content to earn people's subs. That's where their huge interest in first party software comes from now. They know they cant make this work if they don't have a lot of exclusive games to offer. Its no longer simply about trying to sell as many consoles as possible, its about trying to get as many gamers to subscribe to their platform as possible. That's also why they are integrating the Xbox and PC platforms. Their ultimate goal is to get any gamers to buy in whether they are on a PC, some kind of Xbox, phone, tablet, etc. They want anyone to be able to consume Xbox games. 

 

I think this bodes really well for Obsidian and Inexile because they aren't expected to make huge AAA hallmark titles to move systems. They are simply expected to produce quality games that Microsoft can release on a constant basis (along with their other studios) that hit a wide variety of interest and get people signing up for game pass or whatever it becomes down the line. 

 

They basically need reliable, game studios who have a track record of making solid games and getting them out. What Obsidian and Inexile have managed to do with modest crowd funded projects is an impressive feat and something seen as very attractive to Microsoft. I believe them when they essentially say they will let these studios make the games they want while providing support. They bought them to continue doing  what they are doing because games like that make the platform (Xbox/Game Pass) more attractive. 

 

Now if you are worried about the games not being on Linux or being locked behind Windows 10, that's valid, I do think its likely that will happen. What I wouldn't be worried about right now is that Obsidian is going to be gutted and destroyed or forced into some horrible situation that kills them. Agai I am just a big Xbox fan and this is just how I see it but I think it makes a lot of sense if you try to read the tea leaves. 

 

Sorry for the long post, I just get really interested in stuff like this and can talk about it for days lol. End of the day I hope all of Obsidian fans can see some awesome products come out of this and be happy. I for one am very excited and I will be extremely disappointed if does go pear shaped. 

[Wormerine]

 

[PIP-Clownboy]

On 1/25/2019 at 3:44 AM, AeonsLegend said:

So I don't know about you guys, but the aquisition of Obsidian by Microsoft has me a little worried. I know Obsidian had to do a lot with Kickstarter to actually create some of the games here so perhaps the sale was from financial need, but being part of a large company ultimately can move these subsidiaries into something that will break them down. EA for instance has done the same to other companies before. Now I don't want to say anything bad about Microsoft, especially because the company I work for is also a subsidiary of Microsoft (so does that mean I'm now somehow collegues with Obsidian?  ) 

 

I really like the company I work for, but being part of something larger that can influence your course for good or bad can have major impact. What are your thoughts?

This isn't 00s Microsoft anymore, the EA comparison is a joke, they just care about content for gamepass and largely let their newly acquired studios do what they want. 

Otherwise, Sawyer being able to produce 15 man, indie-scale, dream RPG wouldn't be possible. Parker is getting his dream of finishing his Skyrim-like he always wanted. And Outer Worlds 2 was fast tracked to already playable 1 year after it's predecessor's last DLC. Also Grounded seems to have done well to have continued support. 

If Sawyer's game is well-received I see no reason why they can't continue to have at least one mid-sized Black Isle style RPG in production, especially if OTW2 and Avowed sell decently. 

Edited February 19, 2022 by PIP-Clownboy

[Wormerine]

22 hours ago, PIP-Clownboy said:

This isn't 00s Microsoft anymore,

And in the future it might not be 20s Microsoft anymore. I am not terribly worried about next couple years, but after that - who knows. What will Microsoft become once aggresive expansion ends and they will have to find a new way to increase income for investors?

[Undecaf]

Since everyone’s making their games as first- or thirdperson action titles, how would it fair for Obsidian to make a game whose graphics were of today, but gameplay of the likes of Daggerfall (or even Morrowind), B.A.T.2 The Koshan Conspiracy or Dreamweb? Kinda like emulating a PnP experience with a good storytelling element.

[SummerDay]

I also have worries about Microsoft and Obsidian.   I used to live next door to a former employee of Westwood Studios.  He had told me, that as soon as he heard about EA buying Westwood, he saw the writing on the wall and quit.  That's kind of the feeling I get.  I sincerely hope that isn't the case here.

[PIP-Clownboy]

On 1/25/2019 at 10:48 AM, HoonDing said:

Obsidian is finished.

?