Obsidian, InXile Will No Longer Make PlayStation Games

As a PlayStation fan Obsidian hurts a bit if only because in an alternate dimension, they got a shot at making another Fallout game that released instead of Fallout 76.

@get2sammyb I'm going to assume that you've visited an alternate reality in order to state that as fact.

This is a travesty. Obsidian are, imo, the Kings of characterisation in RPGs and now they've been swallowed up by a company whose recent record with first party games has been either cancellation or simple disappointment.

RIP

And nothing of value was lost.

Don't care. We will always have the best exclusives. Show how hard theY flopped with this generation. Arrogant MS.

RIP

Microsoft show was very very weak. The worst on this generation.

Microsoft are really going for it at the moment with these recent acquisitions. They could be a strong rival for Sony next gen.

@crimsontadpoles nah dog.sony still have better studios.but Sony should buy quantic dream.suppermasive games.and immsomiac game.word up son

@Zuby25 I know right PlayStation is still the best.dont really care for pillars.and PlayStation is probably going to get quantic dreams.suppermassive games.and insomniacs.word up son

Obsidian seem to have been surviving for the past few years thanks to kickstarter campaigns and nearly disappeared a few years ago - literally nearly went bankrupt but a successful kickstarter based on a cancelled game bought them time. They didn't get their bonus for Fallout as it missed out on its metacritic score by 1 point (according to wiki).

As good as your portfolio may well be, you can still be on the verge of bankruptcy. Obviously MS has money and needed to raise its studio count. This deal is beneficial for both Obsidian and MS. I bet many haven't bought an Obsidian or inXcile game for years - if at all and probably wouldn't have missed them too much if they had gone but going to MS for their own job security and survival has now got all the PS fanboys upset...

It could be good for PS gamers too as Sony certainly can't take things easy knowing they had far more studio's to offer quantity - if not quality.

Its still likely to be 'years' before these 7 new studio's have games releasing

@Zuby25 and also buy kojima production game.also

@BAMozzy Sony should buy imsomiac games.kojiama.suppermasives games.and quantic dreams.word up son

@playstation1995 I don't know about the other three, but Insomniac keep saying they want to remain independant, so it won't happen. If it were to happen, they would probably go with Sony anyway because they have a much better relationship with them than MS or Nintendo.

As for the other three, they could definitely buy them, but those companies already make games almost exclusively for Playstation, so it would be just as pointless as when Microsoft bought Playground games (because all those guys did were MS exclusives).

@get2sammyb I'm just worried that with MS's record, they may end up closing anyway. Like I said, MS have cancelled or disappointed with a fair share of their exclusives in recent years so if they put Obsidian and Ninja Theory to good use, great, I'm up for branching out to include Xbox in my living room next gen, but I'm just worried of what could happen to some of my fave developers.

Only ms can do is buy out has been studios. Let me know when this is actually interesting news

@playstation1995 I can't see any of those being in a position to want to give up their independence. Insomniac will no doubt be on to a good thing with Spider-Man and have a good relationship with Sony, but that may also give them the financial security to remain independent. You can't just buy up independent studio's - especially if they have financial security.

Ninja Theory had to self fund Senua and took on contract work to pay for that games development. Only a handful of staff worked on that because the majority were having to do contract jobs to pay for the development. Obsidian had been relying on kickstarter to fund their game developments too and nearly went bankrupt.

Sony has the lowest profits of the big 3 console manufacturers. Buying a studio with a lot of assets and high profitability costs a lot more than a company looking to secure their future. MS may not have had to pay anything - just sign them up MS with the promise of funding, support and a future but Insomniac may cost Sony a lot to convince the bosses to give up independence.

@AdamNovice well it has - they are being critical of MS and bitter too. If Sony had acquired them, then Sony would be being praised and not being bitter/negative towards these studio's. It could be the best thing for both studio's as it may well have given them and their employees a long term future. Obsidian has had to rely on kickstarter to get the funds to develop their games so I bet they are happy to be joining MS. The studio's may not have released high profile games in recent years but they obviously have skills - if not the budget in recent years to make a big budget AAA blockbuster. Its not only good for them and their workforce, but good for gamers too as those studio's will release games - not just on Xbox either bit on MS's ecosystem which includes PC. So PS may lose out on some more kickstarter or low budget games - assuming these studio's survived but we could see some great AAA big budget games releasing.

Fortunately I don't really care about most studios Microsoft is buying, but it does feel a bit weird. We hear a lot about Sony expanding their current studios or setting up new ones (the one working on the rumoured Uncharted project for example). Sure they've bought their fair share of studios in the past, but 6, or 7 studios in a single year is a bit too much, isn't it? It feels like a very cheap solution to boost your exclusive games output.

@BAMozzy
'Has got the PS fanboys all upset'
Who are you talking about?
Didn't see anyone upset

Very sad, mostly because I don't want to buy two consoles just to have to play rpgs on xbox. Sony should buy up Larian Studios, Stoic Studios and Bioware when EA have had enough. I've enjoyed both Torment Tides of Numenera and Pillars of Eternity on PS, two of my favourite games on PS4.

Isnt the Bards Tale IV supposed to get a Ps4 port too?

.

I'm okay with studios thats on the verge on bankruptcy be bought by console maker, I hope they can make a good exclusive games for microsoft, more games is better for gamer I think

My takeaway:
Sony dominates in first party exclusives. This is why I don't mind keeping it to a single console in my household. That said, if Microsoft backing these studios that are now in their stable means that there will be more excellent games...great! It might convince me to buy an Xbox. Xbox has always struggled with exclusives. And Microsoft's console support has historically waned after year 3 (OG Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One are clear examples of how the Xbox sputters out after 3 years). I'll still be getting the next PlayStation.

Obsidian was in a very bad financial position for years and even their most recent game, Pillars of Eternity 2 bombed, having sold only 100 000 and some copies, and they had to sell at least 500-600k to break even! So obviously they like financial security as everyone else as they also have families and lives besides gaming. Some people obviously forget that.

Besides, they all have creative freedom given by Microsoft and it's written in their contracts so it's amusing how some salty fanboys comment without knowledge.

Good luck to all of them and wish them to produce good games so we can all enjoy some more good games regardless of platform.

I will genuinely be really gutted if we miss out on Pillars of Eternity 2 or Wasteland 3. I really want to play both of those.

@NecuVise
But why Obsidian was in bad Financial situation?
Because Microsoft cancelled their game Stormlands.

It's a pity you forgot about it

I don’t care about those two developers as I have never bought or backed any of their games. But this news makes me wonder what position Double Fine is in. They were collaborating with the two developers that have just been bought on the Fig platform.

I really like Psychonauts in the rhombus of ruin, have backed Knights on Bikes in Kickstarter and I’m looking forward to psychonauts 2 for PS4.

I never got involved with fig as I didn’t like the mix of crowdfunding and investing. I’m guessing most of those investors would’ve lost that money anyway.

@HefHughner I don’t think they’ve announced any plans to port Bards Tale 4 to consoles. It is already out for PC.

Might buy Pillars of Eternity on Xbox One.

Seems like sensible purchases, and better that those two studios can continue to make games- and more importantly continue employing their staff.

Tbh i dont see this as a bad thing. It doesnt sting like ninja theory and in honesty i havent bought an obsidian game since stick of truth. Ultimately a stronger microsoft is better for competition and will help ensure Sony continue to raise their game which can only be a good thing for gamers

@NecuVise That is interesting to know that they will all have creative freedom. Do you have a link a article where you found this out?

Sony need to aquire housemarque, level-5, drinkbox etc.

@hubertuss03 nope, they were almost always in a bad financial situation and that's why they took contract works. Storm lands was canceled 6 years ago, I'm talking about the most recent situation. It's a pity you're a fanboy so you spin information.

@JohnnyShoulder I don't have a direct link for Obsidian per se, but Microsoft in general talked about that, there are links available, also inxile talked about that in their video shown last night, ninja theory also has video stating why they chose Microsoft and creative freedom was, besides financial backing, the main reason. Find their video and see for yourself.

gamingbolt.com/mike-ybarra-microsoft-wont-limit-creative-freedom-of-new-studios

All these companies they are buying clearly shows how Microsoft had nothing nothing for games on there system except constant forza, gears halo which everyone was getting fed up with. Microsoft will do what they did to rare destory them after a few games and it's exactly EA bring them company in. Take the IPs and get rid of the brand name to have it under the Microsoft Banner only

Good for Microsoft and at least these companies can keep their doors open and their employees paid.

@NecuVise
Stormlands was the beginning of financial problems. It was the biggest deal signed by them so cancelling by MS was huge blow.
The same situation could meet Platinum after Scalebound cancel but Nier saved them.

@hubertuss03 whatever suits your imagination

@NecuVise
PR talking. Video showed on XO2018. It would be weird if they told somithing other
We will se if they will have this freedom :-]

Microsoft is expanding both their PC market and their console market. As predicted, many Steam and [most] GOG gamers are not happy about this news, not just [some] of us PS4 gamers. PC gamers prefer to have everything on Steam or GOG, so the real winners here are Xbox gamers.

For me, it makes no difference. I have little interest in PC games like inXelie's stuff. And how likely are we to get a new KOTOR game, especially one that is as good as KOTOR 1 & 2?

I don't feel any resentment towards Microsoft for this move, both Sony and Steam have their own collection of exclusive developers, especially Steam.

Didn't care of either company the only one that was good and now a big loss was Ninja Theory, I'm still a little salty for that one I really like their games

@crimsontadpoles I hope so, Sony has been pushing hard in recent years, and this will force them to not slack off. Steam needs a proper competitor as well. I know some people don't want to hear this, but I want to see XBox doing really well again, otherwise it will just be Playstation and Steam (and Nintendo), and that's a rather barren gaming world to me.

@ShogunRok Fallout as a exclusive does sound a little off dont you think. 😁

Its a pity i wont buy a Xbox anyway. I will miss Ninja Theory though. 😢

@Octane Well, they have plenty of catching-up to do, in regards to both Sony and Steam. They need to make it worthwhile for PC gamers to start using the Microsoft store much more, and attract more people to Xbox. To me it shows that Microsoft are serious about their mission. The PS5 is not that far off in their minds, and they need to prepare, to counter that.

Only thing to really say to this is that if some of the things written have been true I'm happy MS made the purchases to keep the studios alive and people employed.

As far as how it effects the console arms race I do think with MS being this aggressive that Sony should at least try to lock up Insomniac and Quantic Dream asap.

@NecuVise
I'm getting tire of the whole 'creative freedom' argument anyway. Companies are allowed to determine what they want studios they own to put out. We can complain but at the end of the day it's up to Sony, MS or Nintendo what they want their studios to do.

I also have far less of a problem with MS 'limiting creative freedom' of its own studios than I do Sony bullying third party Japanese devs.

@Gamer83 im sorry, you may be unhappy about content being removed from some titles released in the west. Thats up to you. But it is an extraordinarily dangerous leap to accuse sony of bullying. That simply isnt the case. If companies felt that way, there are plenty of other platforms they could release their content on. But they dont. Not just because sony are a japanese business, or because they have a large install base - but because sony has an excellent reputation for working with partners and treating them well

@NecuVise
Is it really necessary to call people names because they have a different point of view?

@Rob_230
Not dangerous at all. There have been developers in recent times coming out saying how they aren't happy with the work they've done with Sony and companies certainly don't seem happy about having their games censored. Sure, they could go to other platforms but then you're missing out on a userbase of 86 mil+. If I'm running a third party, I cave in, even if I don't like it and make changes to my game to get it on that platform.

@JJ2 it's not, others are entitled to have different opinions, but they should be based on something and fanboyism simply isn't healthy for this industry.

@Gamer83 well I understand why people mention that considering Microsoft's previous track record which isn't all that good but thankfully things change.

@NecuVise
I'm sorry but its too easy to call people fanboy and belittle them to dismiss whatever they can say. I'm very annoyed by this tendency that gamers take for granted they can call people fanboy in the face knowing its a derogatory term, but if its somehow hinted them self might be biased they loose their sht.
Point is everyone calling everyone fanboy is not a good way to discuss

@JJ2 you have some good points, even though I feel there haven't been some good arguments where I called someone fanboys, but I could be wrong.

Sad to see this. Isometric games are some of my favorite games. I am looking forward to Pillars of Eternity 2, but now it will be a Swan song. I hope this doesn't start a software buying war. I think exclusivity shouldn't exist. Let the software companies make the games for all systems if it's profitable. Have a year hold on one system to claim rights. That should be enough. I don't think many people make there system purchase on exclusivity, but maybe they might have too if these software companies keep getting bought up.

@NecuVise
Well not having 'good arguments' is your point of view and could just be said as such.

dont think we will see anything from them till the new xbox (insert random name here) comes out. It is nice to see MS actually investing even if it is for next console. We need 2 major players to keep pushing for the quality to keep coming. Before anyone says I know theres nintendo as well but they are a second console and not in the fight.

Sounds like MS is always looking to buyout developers who are teetering on bankruptcy. Maybe we should thank MS for keeping these studios open for now. But I'm not convinced yet that any of this will help MS restore itself in the gaming biz. At this point, I don't think they know how to win anymore.

I almost feel sorry for people who spent $500 on the Xbox X. No sooner than it came out, MS said they were working on yet another system. Why did they even bother with the X? MS just seems to be flailing around: loose hardware talk and buying up random studios. I just don't see the coherent focus needed to build something that's going to last.

@GamerDad66
Ms said around E3 that they want more AA sp games and I feel that sounds coherent with their cloud streaming focus on all platforms.

Maybe these studios will help turn Crackdowngrade into a decent game? So many delays and still looks atrocious.

Why its taken MS so long to realise they need content is beyond me. I mean what are they paying Phil Spencer for? Very bad judgement imo...

@GamerDad66 I don't see the X as being significantly different from the Pro. Both are current gen consoles that is already 5yrs on now, both designed to boost the visuals of current gen games to look better on 4k screens, the X also has the best 4k multi-media capability too and brings some 'next' gen features to current gen gaming but ultimately, both the Pro and X are consoles that are literally making current gen games look much better for 4k TV owners.

If you consider the PS4 and Xbox offer up to 1080p but often drop below with dynamic scaling - some games under 900p with the XB1 struggling even more than the PS4. That means that owners of 4k TV's have games upscaled by at least 400% with some requiring a 900% upscale - 4k is 9x the size of 720p.

This is why the Pro and X had a much bigger jump in their GPU compared to the very slight boost in CPU. Both the Pro and X had roughly 30% speed boost on their CPU but the Pro had a 220% increase in GPU and the X had 420% increase in its GPU over the base XB1. The X also went a bit further with its RAM, both the quantity and bandwidth which also helps with the visual improvements but this is indicative of the philosophy to 'boost' the visuals for 4k TV users rather than the 'drop' in quality due to big upscaling. 900p looks worse on a 4k TV than it does on a 1080p TV because you are only increasing the size by around 33% to get to full HD but over 500% to get to 4k. 900p is less than 1/5th of the size of 4k but 3/4's of the size of 1080p. There is more blur, more issues with the PQ - and of course, most people have increased their screen size from their HD TV which also makes the blur much more obvious.

Whether people will be upset after just a couple of years or not, I don't know. That may also depend on whether or not they upgrade immediately and plan on trading in their X/Pro's or whether or not they plan to keep them. These consoles will at least give the 'old' games a visual boost and be better for those that play on more than 1 generation. They are better equipped to be more future proof in a lot of ways - games like God of War and H:ZD won't perhaps look so blurry and low res compared to any PS5 sequel - may play slower at 30fps of course.

Anyone who thought these consoles would significantly increase or even reset the life of this gen are seriously mistaken. They are current gen consoles, albeit enhanced to offer a better visual experience especially for the growing 4k TV users and not a 'new' generation themselves. You don't but a PS4 Slim or XB1s and think it will not be 'replaced' by a new gen at the same time as the day 1 base consoles are. Sony have been clear the Pro is a PS4 and will NOT get any releases that the base PS4's won't - MS seem to be a bit more vague with no 'current plans' to do that - but maybe they will allow some games to release on the X that won't run or just release them anyway and have terrible visuals/performance on the base consoles - like Nintendo have with the N64 and 3DS. Just because a PS5 or Xbox Scarlett is released, that also doesn't mean the PS4/XB1 is dead and often there is a few years transition - I don't get rid of my last gen consoles either so I will keep my Pro/X and both will be the best PS4/XB1 to play games on whilst I build up my new libraries on next gen hardware. It maybe 2/3yrs old by the time a next gen console releases but I expect it will still get regular use for a year or 2 after and be phased out gradually - but still an option if I want to play older games. I still have my 360/PS3's too - both set-up.

@BAMozzy Can you show me how you know that Sony got the lowest profits of the three? I can see MS making more as they are a much bigger company but Nintendo earning more profit than Sony is a surprise if true. Base on what I can find Sony made $2.2 billion USD in in the July-September 2018 report while Nintendo made $274.11 million USD in the same period. https://sonyreconsidered.com/sony-q2-2018-earnings-overview-6a7b04ffddd9 https://www.firstpost.com/tech/gaming/nintendo-reports-30-percent-rise-in-profits-in-q2-as-switch-sales-drive-earnings-5471471.html/amp

Good for the devs... Both studio kinda struggling and kept afloat by making niche old school RPG..
Good that they now have the financial stability to make new great RPG in place of Bioware.. And I'm sure all Microsoft games will be released on PC as well...

I think it goes something like this:

Microsoft buys studio.
Studio produces nothing of note.
Key devs leave studio and set up their own.
Studio flounders/gets shut down.

Looking forward to see what rises from the ashes...

to be fair they would probably have gone under soon anyways MS is buying studios that are close to bankruptcy or 1 game from going under.
not really bothered none of the studios they have bought have made me say dam I wish they had not done that.

I nave no problem with MicroSoft working harder and doing better. I even looked hard at XBox S last year to buy one. Mostly around BlackFriday and big sales. Sadly they still did not tip my personal scales and get the purchase. If I could buy a Nintendo Switch with out the portable screen (lower cost) I am sure I would buy one of them. None of that would lower my love for my PS4 Pro!

Personally I'm of the opinion that XB suffers from having a lot of grey/brown/beige games where you shoot things and not much else. As a primary Nintendo player their console does nothing for me, whereas PS has a selection of japanese stuff/colourful 1st party games that got me to buy a PS4.

If Microsoft can use these developers to broaden their genres maybe they'll do better, but if all they do is make more Gears of Halo clones then they won't be doing much than making their current fanbase happy.

This is great news for Xbox, can not wait to see what the new studios bring to the table, especially Ninja Theory and Obsidian with the financial backing and freedom Microsoft are promising.

@dani_i89

3 games isn’t much to convince a Nintendo fan like me to buy an XB1 though, is it? For the people that like XBox I’m happy they love it, but it definitely has a limited market- just like Nintendo isn’t going to be drawing in people that want shooters and Assassins Creed type games.

For the XB2 (or whatever the name is) to grow it’s user base it needs to draw in a new crowd of players. The XB1 only has 30 million consoles sold, and probably only 20 million people who bought those. Variety in games lineup will bring in more players.

@dani_i89 I sense a butt hurt fanboy. Pale in comparison your DELUDED HAHAHA. Forgot Xbox has no games. Just a plastic box

@dani_i89 I know it's not hard to understand but my point was why has it taken MS so long to understand this? They've only just started buying studios for content when X1 needed it badly over the last 5 years...

@dani_i89 Next gen will be interesting for sure!

@dani_i89 250 plus and you don't switch your PS4 on? That's a load of lies.

Dude how you comparing a trash franchise like Gears and a racing game to Uncharted and horizon zero dawn. Uncharted series is critically acclaimed arguably one of the best franchises ever made they even copied the sequences in films like mission impossible both films that just realesed.

Your argument is baseless. Where are these types of games on Xbox I tell you where no where to be Found!

And about 4K no cares to be honest the base PS4 sells the most in worldwide. Xb1x don't sell simple way too much money just as the Pro.

Also I'm not the one on a PlayStation only website!

Yep, stupid people