Jason Schreier is usually pretty reliable.
This seems like crazy news, and I would be very happy for Obsidian to get some breathing room to make cool things, but I don’t really care about any of Microsoft’s IPs that could be made into an RPG. I guess Fable would make the most sense, but I would much rather see Obsidian free to do their own thing with a real budget.
Hopefully they spread that equity around when times were tough.
It worked out great for Rare!
Alpha Protocol 2 please!
Microsoft definitely making a strong move into the gaming space, either for their cloud tech or for their XBone replacement which surely is on a near horizon.
Xbox Live rocks, jealous man!
Yes, I know. I’m a subscriber.
Didn’t know if you were a Crip or a Blood. {Flashes sign}
I would love for Obsidian to have stable finances and the breathing room to make lots of awesome RPGs based on what they, as creative people, want to do. I don’t think that being bought by Microsoft is going anywhere good. I guess at least it isn’t EA, though.
It’s crazy to think that at the start of this gen, Microsoft cancelling Stormlands led to Obsidian pursuing crowd-funding, and now we’ve come full circle. Being a large independent developer must be extremely difficult, if not impossible, in this environment without the security of a studio-owned, mega successful IP. Given Microsoft’s recent investments in mid-size developers, this seems like it would be a great move for both parties, and the prospect of a next-gen, first-party Obsidian game is seriously appealing. I just hope that the studio’s Private Division RPG doesn’t suffer in this transition, because losing or compromising on a new game from Leonard Boyarsky and Tim Cain would be awful.
Agree. It actually seems far superior to being a dev for, say, EA, where you have to milk every dollar and venture towards child-gambling as a model.
With MS you are a smaller part of a business model that has a bigger, broader perspective than the EAs of the world. More wiggle room in the board-mandated revenue generation requirements.
I personally am not looking forward to Xbox-primary Obsidian RPGs or being expected to get them from the Microsoft Store, both of which seem basically guaranteed given Microsoft’s efforts in the past. But I guess other people make RPGs too.
Oh crap.
Yet. Not yet.
Hypothetical. EA is EA now. I gotta back the not EA.
Microsoft does have a history of buying companies but then also letting themselves back out as well, as in Bungie’s case. I also don’t think they would force Obsidian to make console style games, and just make sure their games have control schemes that can work on the xbox as well as pc.
I’m pretty sure I have a Lionhead joke around here somewhere … no wait, in my coat pocket? Ah, here it is! No, that’s a stick of gum … maybe in my other pants?
I’m not sure where this idea that Obsidian are a PC-focused studio comes from - they’ve done tons of console games. And I absolutely believe that Microsoft are in this to boost the Xbox One, not because they care about gaming on Windows, because there is literally no reason to ever believe that Microsoft cares about gaming on Windows at this point.
Yep.
Console/PC releases:
KOTOR 2, Alpha Protocol, Fallout: New Vegas, Dungeon Siege 3, South Park: Stick of Truth, Pillars of Eternity I & II, Skyforge (what the heck is Skyforge? There’s an Obsidian game I’ve never heard of? MMORPG?)
PC-Only Releases:
Neverwinter Nights 2, Pathfinder Adventures (what?), Tyranny