Microsoft Acquires RPG Developers Obsidian Entertainment and inXile

Megalith

Megalith

24-bit/48kHz
Staff member
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
13,000
At its Xbox X018 event in Mexico, Microsoft announced it has acquired RPG developers Obsidian Entertainment (Fallout: New Vegas, Knights of the Republic 2) and inXile (Wasteland 2, Torment: Tides of Numenera). This is Redmond’s latest attempt to strengthen its Xbox library, which many have criticized as being lacking. Microsoft says the studios will "continue to operate autonomously.”

Corporate vice president of Microsoft Studios Matt Booty mentioned that the deals are part of the company's goal of "delivering content for new platforms and services like Xbox Game Pass, and creating exclusive games that turn players into loyal Xbox fans"—what the implications are for PC, particularly in terms of the stores PC players will be able to buy future Obsidian and InXile games from, remains to be seen.
 
sarlacc-pit.jpg
 
FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!

Seriously, fuck. inXile run by Wasteland great Bryan Fargo, Wasteland sequel, recently released a remastering of the Bard's Tale, with BT2 and 3 coming soon just for some good old fashioned nostalgia, I think Wasteland 3 is in the works.... but seriously... better not table this shit.
 
I'm hopeful. They've reunited inXile and Obsidian (more or less, Interplay Redux), it was their 'big' Xbox announcement at X018, and they coupled this announcement with KB+M support for Xbox (hopefully this type of controller support comes to traditional cRPGs on the platform).

My biggest concern is that MS will try to shoehorn the devs into making RPGs based on MS' big IPs, ie: Halo RPG, Gears of War RPG, etc. I hope they give the studios the leeway to make very mature rated titles.
 
Why all the hate? MS has done great with their OS and other products!

HAHA. Yeah, I was laughing while I typed it. Game over. I am also sure this will end badly.
 
Last edited:
Torment was crap. Bard's Tale even more so. Tyranny was fun though but that was a contract job.

Microsoft = S? well, that is one of the more realistic chance of Inxile getting a decent budget to make any AA or AAA game. More positive than negative in this acquisition. Maybe we can get finally get something stellar from them in the next couple of years.

and they can stop with the kickstarters, where all the much fancied stretchgoals becomes nothing more then hot air. (especially on Torment)

and at least it's not Paradox.
 
Galvin said:
Companies need to stop selling out to microsoft
Click to expand...

The problem is, if it's a publicly traded company, if the offer MS made was "in the shareholders best interest", then they are pretty much legally required to sell.

So far as I understand it, anyway, but I really could be talking out my arse.
 
Esso said:
Better MS than EA.
Click to expand...

So true.

Would rather MS bought a struggling but respected studio. Obsidian is about as big and stable as a good game company can get.

New Vegas and kotor2 are some of my defining gaming experiences!

Actually Microsoft should have bought subnautica or no mans sky studios.
 
They just need to make a good Halo RPG.


None of that Destiny hybrid shit, but Skyrim/Fallout 4 style.


They'd probably fuck it up, but I can still dream.
 
They're likely to end up exactly like Digital Anvil.

Freelancer is one of my all-time favorite PC games, but I found out through Lancers Reactor that Microsoft reeled in the scope of the game, cut out a bunch of content (ships, upgrades, commodities, planets, story missions, etc) in order to get it out the door sooner than Digital Anvil was wanting, so it could have been even better.

Same with Ensemble Studios.
AoE 1 and 2 are absolutele masterpieces.

I still play Freelancer and AoE 2 to this day.
 
SeymourGore said:
I'm hopeful. They've reunited inXile and Obsidian (more or less, Interplay Redux), it was their 'big' Xbox announcement at X018, and they coupled this announcement with KB+M support for Xbox (hopefully this type of controller support comes to traditional cRPGs on the platform).

My biggest concern is that MS will try to shoehorn the devs into making RPGs based on MS' big IPs, ie: Halo RPG, Gears of War RPG, etc. I hope they give the studios the leeway to make very mature rated titles.
Click to expand...

The more likely problem is they won't let them make anything except sequels to what they've already made. Supposedly that's the big problem of being an MS studio. They are good about funding projects to completion, and not fucking around with their studios but the only pitches they ever accept are sequels to existing IP.

I'm also sad because this is the death of two of the best "Alt-A" game makers. What I mean by that is companies who make games that are large, complex, made with a big team, etc but aren't massive budget titles. As such they can afford to appeal to more limited audiences since they only have to make back like a $3-5 million budget rather than a $100+ million budget. While MS could keep doing that, somehow I don't think they will, I think they'll become AAA studios, which will mean their games will need to be targeted to the mass audience.
 
vagabond102 said:
The problem is, if it's a publicly traded company, if the offer MS made was "in the shareholders best interest", then they are pretty much legally required to sell.
Click to expand...
So sad that "the shareholders best interests" are more important than "the customers who are literally the ones who buy the products interests"

That said, are they publicly traded company? I mean Wasteland 2 was pure kickstarter funded, as was The Bard's Tale 4.
 
This is about money. Not money to make great computer games, though. This is, "I'm over 40 years old, I just got divorced, I don't want to work 60 hours a week anymore, I don't even want to make games anymore, what I want to do is buy a yacht, get a berth on the French Riviera and chase barely legal chicks" money.

And that's expensive, folks. Only a few companies can afford to throw around that kind of money, and one of them is Microsoft, a company whose compound name represents male impotency.
 
vagabond102 said:
The problem is, if it's a publicly traded company, if the offer MS made was "in the shareholders best interest", then they are pretty much legally required to sell.

So far as I understand it, anyway, but I really could be talking out my arse.
Click to expand...

Inxile and Obsidian were both private companies. They weren't publicly traded. I know, because I looked, as I wanted a small stake in Obsidian :(

However, private investors could still own a large chunk of the company. I'm not sure what the previous ownership situation was, but a giant check from MS would certainly make some investors foam at the mouth.

joobjoob said:
Would rather MS bought a struggling but respected studio. Obsidian is about as big and stable as a good game company can get.
Click to expand...

What was their last big hit? POE? I don't have a source, but IIRC they aren't exactly swimming in cash, and they could definitely use some more for larger-scale projects.
 
AlphaAtlas said:
What was their last big hit? POE? I don't have a source, but IIRC they aren't exactly swimming in cash, and they could definitely use some more for larger-scale projects.
Click to expand...

Pillars of Eternity, it did very well.

Welp, I guess if any of you were holding out for next great Pillars of Eternity game, you can pretty much let that one go.
 
I love how people are over reacting about this. Both studios needed cash, and this gives them full funding to finish Wasteland 3 and whatever Obsidian has going with 2K, and they have said nothing about those two titles are changing, so that means Wasteland 3 on Steam, GoG and PS4 and wherever 2K wants Obsidian's game. Obviously after that things change, but if those companies had run out of money we wouldn't have got the games that are being finished. Not to mention we are guaranteed a game from each after that on Microsoft's platforms and maybe Steam, made with Microsoft money. If both games fail, so be it. The studios close down, but without any debt, and the creators can move on to the next studio free and clear. So literally nothing bad happens unless you are Sony only gamer.
 
No one , not even the biggest MS defenders , can with a straight face say Wasteland remake and Pillars of Eternity would have been done if this had been under MS umbrella to begin with. They were not flashy enough and far too "old school" for the folks there. Whole reason he went to KS was because publishers were idiots.

Good for him to get paid for it I guess , but no more actual good games from them I am afraid.
 
I’ve got mixed feelings about this, I love the work these companies do/did, and I don’t want MS to change them. But at the same time I know that while they were making money they were having cash flow problems and with out a major backer would probably be folding a few years out. MS is trying really hard to get more content creators on their platforms so this could help. So I am really hoping this is a win win, because I would love to see what they can do with some money backing them coming from sources other than Kickstarter.
 
I know I'm one of like 3 people who bought the new BT games but I have been enjoying them.

I guess this means I can now look forward to monthly or 2x year updates that will slowly take BT4 from unfinished to nonworking.

Strangely enough, I had been thinking there was something about BT4's visuals that reminded me of Fable.
 
The_Capulet said:
RIP Obsidian Entertainment.

Fuck this shit.
Click to expand...
Obsidian would have been RIP'd had they not been acquired by Microsoft. You can only run a business off of Kickstarter/Fig/Indiegogo for so long.
Krenum said:
Pillars of Eternity, it did very well.

Welp, I guess if any of you were holding out for next great Pillars of Eternity game, you can pretty much let that one go.
Click to expand...
Pillars of Eternity II sold like dogshit compared to the first. People generally chose Divinity: Original Sin 2 over it. Bad thing about competition in a limited space is there are very few winners. The CRPG renaissance was nice while it lasted.
 
KarsusTG said:
Microsoft seems to destroy everything it acquires this way which doesn't bode well for these companies.
Click to expand...

Microsoft is actually one of the better ones. EA and Activison are the worst. Bungie functioned the best when it was under Microsoft, they left to Activision and you know what happened.
 
joobjoob said:
So true.

Would rather MS bought a struggling but respected studio. Obsidian is about as big and stable as a good game company can get.

New Vegas and kotor2 are some of my defining gaming experiences!

Actually Microsoft should have bought subnautica or no mans sky studios.
Click to expand...

Microsoft actually wants to buy GOOD companies, not piles of shit.
 
Microsoft needs to buy Activision, Origin, Valve and UBI then pick up Bethesda for good measure.
 
I don't understand the hate. MS has published some of gaming's most popular games and franchises.

Their problem has never been the games, it's the ecosystem they try to cram down your throat. Xbox live is fine, but the Windows gaming overlays have all been awful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top