Obsidian and inXile acquired by Microsoft

[glass blackbird]

This has been already said, but I'm really curious what's going to happen to The Outer Worlds. Has there been any other cases like this? Where a developer gets acquired when they already have an ongoing contract with other publishers?

no reason for anything to happen to it.

Hell, if you go back to when Microsoft bought Rare, they still let them finish up the handheld projects they were doing for Nintendo. If you buy a company it doesn't void contracts they already signed.

If Microsoft really has a problem with it they could maybe work something out but I'd imagine that stuff will still get done yeah

edit: also, bafflingly, Microsoft has announced some PC-only games recently, including some weird Gears of War XCOM thing. Sure, it doesn't look great, but it's still a PC-centric development and not going to be on consoles at all, so who knows

 

[SpaceWizardz]

Hell, if you go back to when Microsoft bought Rare, they still let them finish up the handheld projects they were doing for Nintendo. If you buy a company it doesn't void contracts they already signed.

If Microsoft really has a problem with it they could maybe work something out but I'd imagine that stuff will still get done yeah

edit: also, bafflingly, Microsoft has announced some PC-only games recently, including some weird Gears of War XCOM thing. Sure, it doesn't look great, but it's still a PC-centric development and not going to be on consoles at all, so who knows

Don't forget AoE4!
If you wanna talk baffling, Relic's most popular games are Sci-fi, Creative Assembly's most popular games are historical. So of course MS gives Relic Age of Empires and CA gets Halo Wars 2

 

[Glaucon]

this is like when brockhampton got signed to RCA records and ameer got cancelled from the group. BH changed but some change can be good, and i'm sure obsidian has an iridescence quality album (game) in them when They move over to Microsoft. Sorry about any spelling i'm posting on my phone

never thought I'd see Brockhampton mentioned on the Codex

 

[glass blackbird]

My prediction is that they'll be allowed to make one new game with a larger budget than PoE2, it'll flop, and then they'll switch over to making bad zombie survival games or something. But it's entirely possible that having a publisher that, regardless of their retardation, actually gets to show shit off at E3 etc will be good for the company.

Note that none of this is about the quality of their game because who the fuck knows really

 

[Ulfhednar]

Someone released a cRPG with attrition mechanics, and it wasn't these guys. Sorry, not gonna buy your XBox.

 

[Latelistener]

Which doesn't mean he wouldn't stay on as studio "creative director", but I doubt that position will continue to exist in its current form after the massive management turnover and cash injection sure to follow a Microsoft acquisition.

If he stays though I can see him becoming the studio head quite easily in a couple of years. He has the necessary qualities, he's been there for more than a decade and people know him more than anyone else in Obsidian. Given proper structure he can even lead projects if he'll want to (see Arkane).

 

[Fenix]

Do you you guys think it's totally coincidence that new Cainarsky game has GEOMETRIC SHAPES, triangles like this

Spoiler

or even squares like this

Spoiler

and that consoles bought it?
Could it be that they casted a fishing rod on a personal level well before that, like someone knows a buddy who drinks with someone who know someone from MS and such, and this is the real reason of GEOMETRIC SHAPES?


On a serious note - this is the end of Obsidian as we knew it, no matter what they will change, and if you want to know what kind of games they will be making look at MS games.
Not that they did somethign good in last 10 years anyway, what was the last good game - FNV?

 

[InD_ImaginE]

Obsidian after Microsoft, will it be like Bioware after EA?

Iirc a lot of Bioware figurehead leave after EA. Bioware simply becomes brand of sort of EA

 

[kalganoat]

I came here to see codex meltdown

 

[Fry]

Which doesn't mean he wouldn't stay on as studio "creative director", but I doubt that position will continue to exist in its current form after the massive management turnover and cash injection sure to follow a Microsoft acquisition.

If he stays though I can see him becoming the studio head quite easily in a couple of years. He has the necessary qualities, he's been there for more than a decade and people know him more than anyone else in Obsidian. Given proper structure he can even lead projects if he'll want to (see Arkane).

Depends what MS wants from a head. Sawyer has never shown anything but active contempt for the business side of running a game studio.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[111111111]

minecraft rpg by obsidian when?

FUCK that sounds so terrible please just nO

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Latro]

sorry i don't date dumbfucks

hi

 

[Fenix]

minecraft rpg by obsidian when?

Can you imagine that glorious game - Minecraft with C&C, dialogs like P:T.
All these aumauamaua and like orlans and gender-bender feathered paladins in a wonderful world of Minecraft.

 

[RK47]

cant wait to farm Fampyrs Fangs

 

[thesheeep]

That would probably mean PoE3 would be Windows & Xbox only (and not cross-platform with linux, mac, etc. like it used to). Well, if it doesn't run on linux, I'm highly unlikely to buy it.
Also, possibly restricted to that Windows Store thing, so nobody else will buy it either

 

[Nano]

I thought the ideas behind the Xbone were ahead of their time, tbh. People freaked out, MS abandoned the position, and x years later, they find themselves unprepared for a streaming/subscriber-based world their initial xb1 design had been targeted for. If anything, I blame people for being dumb and reacting in fear to new things, and MS for caving to the pressure.)

C'mon, man. It's got nothing to do with Microsoft trying "new things" and everything to do with them trying to assume more control over consumers.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

One thing Microsoft might consider is dumping some money into Obsidian and have them create a TES type of game. The expertise is already there and they have the Pillars IP to set it in.

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

One thing Microsoft might consider is dumping some money into Obsidian and have them create a TES type of game. The expertise is already there and they have the Pillars IP so set it in.

I suspect the Pillars IP is of limited value to Microsoft. Besides, Obsidian’s already making a pseudo Bethesda inspired ARPG with whatever the hell Indiana turns out to be (either Cain or Boyarsky said they were playing F:NV for inspiration).

Obsidian owns the Indiana IP, too. If Microsoft is really interested in any of the intellectual property, that’s the one they want. If they want Obsidian for its track record then they want Sawyer and whoever else is left from the New Vegas team. “From The creators of Fallout and the developer of Fallout: New Vegas” would make for a powerful advertisement.

For everyone saying nothing of value will be lost since Obsidian hasn’t made anything great since F:NV, you guys should be ecstatic. If this deal is really happening, the odds are good MSFT’s plan is to give Obsidian the money to make games just like New Vegas. Can you think of another reason why MSFT would even think twice about this deal?

Obsidian’s one for three when it comes to commercially successful old schoolish isometric RPGs. And even if Deadfire and Tyranny had sold better, these small projects likely aren’t worth Microsoft’s time. They’ll want AAA tier Obsidian stuff.

Of course, MCA expressed extreme skepticism. Wouldn’t shock me if Feargus is spreading these rumors simply to help retain talent.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

Well, if it doesn't run on linux, I'm highly unlikely to buy it.

We have rednecks like that in here, they refuse to buy Coke/Pepsi to protest against American politics like that's gonna ruin Coca-Cola. So they drink Prosto Cola and various other disgusting, vomit inducing types of piss.

You're a retarded pidorashka and you didn't even know it, you should be living here with us!

 

[thesheeep]

Well, if it doesn't run on linux, I'm highly unlikely to buy it.

We have rednecks like that in here, they refuse to buy Coke/Pepsi to protest against American politics like that's gonna ruin Coca-Cola. So they drink Prosto Cola and various other disgusting, vomit inducing types of piss.

You're a retarded pidorashka and you didn't even know it, you should be living here with us!

I have no idea how you even managed to come up with that nonsense.

I prefer to use linux because I am way more productive and efficient using it, and it allows me much better control over anything than Windows ever will. And it quite simply runs faster. And it doesn't force me to pay 200 bucks if I change my motherboard.
Naturally, I prefer games that run (natively or via Wine/Steam Play) on my platform of choice and am less likely to purchase a game that doesn't.

What in this sounds like a political protest to you?
I'm not choosing linux to protest Windows, I'm choosing it because it simply works better for me.

I still dual boot for the few games I really want to play and can't get running on linux (and for work), but given how "meh" both PoE1 and 2 were, I really doubt I'd get a third part if it would require me to switch to Windows.
Also, with the investments Valve is making in Wine/Proton/Steam Play/DXVK, and the surge of development speed in those that came with that investment, it won't be too long (I'd say 2-3 years) until the majority of even newly released Windows games will run "just like that" on linux.

 

[Nano]

And it doesn't force me to pay 200 bucks if I change my motherboard.

Does it really, though? To be honest, I don't think there's anything wrong with "stealing" from a monopolistic company that treats its customers like shit.

 

[thesheeep]

And it doesn't force me to pay 200 bucks if I change my motherboard.

Does it really, though? To be honest, I don't think there's anything wrong with "stealing" from a monopolistic company that treats its customers like shit.

I agree, but it does force you, unfortunately.
Sure, there are ways around it for private users, but since I use my PC for work as well, I can't really afford to have some half/barely/probably not legal Windows license

 

[jaydee2k]

RIP