cRPG Dev stock

CD Projekt: hot and rising thanks to the Witcher 2, the impending X360 release and GoG

Larian: Rising due to well-received Dragon Knight Saga

Pirhana Bytes: Steady / Rising due to return-to-form Risen and buzz around Risen 2

Eidos Montreal: Rising due to buzz around Deus Ex

Bethesda: Steady due to consistency in execution and well-paced release schedule. unlike other AAA devs, Bethesda doesn't tinker w their formula for their game designs too radically (see: Bioware)

Reality Pump: Steady due to ok-received TW2

Bioware: dubiously falling due to troublesome TOR buzz, DA2 and their whole DLC system.

Obsidian: dubiously falling due to bad buzz on Dungeon Siege 3 and Alpha Protocal outweighing whatever storytelling strengths New Vegas brought to the table.

Small Indies like Basalisk, Heroic Fantasy Games, Spiderweb Software: steady - they do what they do and they do it well

any i've missed? MMRPG devs? non=rpg centric devs? console rpg devs? non-traditional platform devs?

You missed quite a lot, actually most of them as what makes a RPG is subjective.

You can add: Rockstar, Maxis, Ubisoft, Valve, Activision, Polyphony Digital, Konami etc... So much of them.

Funnily enough, one of the only game developper involved in developping a RPG is not mentioned, Taleworld. Tell about the health of the genre.

You got most of them. I would agree with ChienAboyeur but the other companys he mentioned dont make rpgs or to few of them. I dont consider fps/fighting games/ and gta clones rpgs.

But you could since it is all subjective.

Why deprive yourself from listing the best sellers, the best video game studios as RPG involved so that it shows that RPG genre is thriving? (Or the worst if you want to see a decline)

Those games exhibit the so called RGP elements.

Like you said its all subjective. He listed rpg developers though not company's with rpg mechanics added to there games. Look at some of the newer rps that claim they want of the COD and GTA players and how there games turned out.

The rise, steady and fail all become subjective.

why bother listing Bioware while one could list another RPG developper like Rockstar to show that the genre is thriving?
Just state that Bioware is not doing RPG and Rockstar does RPG and it is done.

Asking for others to add to the list is also a failed endeavour before starting. Only his own subjectivity can provide for him what studio are RPG developpers. Others cant do that for him.

Well what Rockstar did with LA Noire was to make a major release of what we used to call an 'Adventure game' in the old days. Those more or less emphasize the questing, exploring and mystery and puzzle solving elements of RPGs while minimizing the combat and stats elements.

They essentially did the exact opposite of what everyone else seems to be doing, which is emphasizing the combat and stats elements while minimizing the non combat elements, even in so-called RPGs.

I'm curious to see how they do with LA Noire and if it might bring back the Adventure game. However even if it does it will likely be for consoles only just as LA Noire is.

But they treat LA Noir like a "normal" game with all of this DLC, preorder bonus etc. stuff.

REAL adventure-games producing companies just don't do that. They just don't do DLCs and preorder boni right now.

Alrik Fassbauer said:

But they treat LA Noir like a "normal" game with all of this DLC, preorder bonus etc. stuff.

REAL adventure-games producing companies just don't do that. They just don't do DLCs and preorder boni right now.

Click to expand...

Pretty much any major release AAA game has to do pre-order bonuses these days as the retailers expect it and demand it. I think the masses expect DLCs too and complain if they don't get it, at least from some forums I have been around. If a company really wants to be 'nice' they can make the DLCs free like CD Projekt but I don't expect many of the large companies to do that.

Yes, maybe. But I was talking about companies that do adventure games only.

I can't see anyone missing from the original post, though I don't really agree that BioWare or Obsidian are about to fall in any way - they should still have a healthy economy at this point.