Obsidian Entertainment - Avellone is Out

[Vindicator]

… Could be that he got Fargo to secure Van Buren for him.

Now that would be interesting… but unless Fargo offered him the keys to his Ferrari, I'm guessing Chris will be working on Fallout 4.

 

[Drithius]

The design for Fallout 4 is basically done at this point. Unless he's brought on for DLC (whose basic outline might also be done).

I for one hope he doesn't go to any big studio such as Bethesda; writing talent is more likely to get ushered into a corner when there's a room full of suits to appease. Better to start his own studio or join a small team.

 

[azarhal]

Better to start his own studio

He is (was?) co-owner of Obsidian and Chief Creative Officer of the company...

He was probably offered a lead position on a game that he couldn't refuse. He haven't been a lead on a game for close to 10 years and management might be starting to bore him.

 

[crpgnut]

Hmmm, a FNV-type followup to Fallout 4? That would be about ready to onboard.

 

[rune_74]

I think it would be a bit of a stretch to see him leave Obsidian and move to Europe(with his family?). Most likely joining some company in North america....maybe Inexile?

 

[Moriendor]

Whatever it is he is doing next, it must have been something incredibly tempting for him to leave at this point.
With the PoE Kickstarter Obsidian finally broke free from publishers and got the creative freedom they had always desired.
Theoretically a dream come true for Avellone and I believe he even said as much repeatedly. There are many, many stories to be told in the PoE universe so the way I see it is there are three possibilities.
A once in a lifetime offer he just could not resist or PoE did not do well enough for a sequel or Obsidian is somehow compromising the creative freedom by going with a publisher for PoE 2.
His departure at this time doesn't really make much sense since he should theoretically be super-happy with the prospect of full creative freedom for PoE expansions and PoE 2 so... what happened?

As for the PoE novella...

 

[rune_74]

Pretty sure PoE did really well....

 

[Luckra]

Going by the email, he went to work on an announced project. Could be that he got Fargo to secure Van Buren for him.

I really think the timing with Fargo's announcement is more than just coincidence.

 

[Moriendor]

I think it would be a bit of a stretch to see him leave Obsidian and move to Europe(with his family?). Most likely joining some company in North america….maybe Inexile?

Well, Larian has opened an office in Quebec Canada so not necessarily a need to relocate to EU but I don't think he would leave Obsidian for Larian. For inXile? Yes. Maybe. It's the most likely outcome but on the other hand... why? Why leave Obsidian when there should be so much life left in PoE? If you look at what he's giving up then it must have been a bigger and more tempting offer than inXile, no? Or it is as I said above that Obsidian has future plans for PoE that Chris did not agree with and so he did jump ship and will join inXile as soon as he can.

 

[Couchpotato]

Pretty sure PoE did really well….

I hope it sold well but Steam sales says only 371,349 have been sold since it was released. It's hard to find actual sales as that data is not released to the public.

Link - http://steamspy.com/app/291650

Hopefully the new expansions will bring in more revenue, and they announce what their next kickstarter game will be sometime this year. As I will back it instantly.

I really think the timing with Fargo's announcement is more than just coincidence.

I agree especially given his video presentation, and the Eurogamer article this week.

 

[rune_74]

I hope it sold well but Steam sales says only 371,349 have been sold since it was released. It's hard to find actual sales as that data is not released to the public.

Link - http://steamspy.com/app/291650

Hopefully the new expansions will bring in more revenue, and they announce what their next kickstarter game will be sometime this year. As I will back it instantly.

I agree especially given his video presentation, and the Eurogamer article this week.

Are those sales not including the ones kickstarted?

 

[Couchpotato]

Are those sales not including the ones kickstarted?

Probably not as the data is only taken from Steam sales.

 

[Moriendor]

Are those sales not including the ones kickstarted?

It's game owners so yes everyone who got the game no matter how including KS backers.

 

[azarhal]

Well, Larian has opened an office in Quebec Canada so not necessarily a need to relocate to EU but I don't think he would leave Obsidian for Larian.

No person with a sane mind would leave California for Quebec Canada anyway...

 

[Couchpotato]

It's game owners so yes everyone who got the game no matter how including KS backers.

Thanks for the correction Moriendor so it didn't sell that well then.

 

[rune_74]

Thanks for the correction Moriendor so it didn't sell that well then.

You could get it outside of steam though right?

 

[Couchpotato]

You could get it outside of steam though right?

Yes but good luck finding the physical sale numbers.

You can buy a physical edition in the US, but it still uses Steam. I have no idea if the European physical version was DRM-free. I also cant find numbers for those sales.

 

[rune_74]

Yes but good luck finding the physical sale numbers.

This REDDIT has a neat comments on the sales….only 75k would be from backers the rest is sales….https://www.reddit.com/r/projectete...meone_is_interested_in_how_well_poe_soldonly/

No records on how well it did on GOG.com....but it was a top seller.

 

[Couchpotato]

Well even if we factor in GOG and physical sales it probably didn't sell more than a million copies. Anyway this is just a guess on my part so I really don't know.

I can verify it was illegally downloaded more than that based on torrent download numbers. That's a shame really, but the reality of PC games nowadays.

Still I believe they made back the cost of development plus some extra funds at least, but the game was not a huge financial success as Obsidian planned.

Again just my opinion till we know the true sale numbers.

 

[Thrasher]

Yeah, those low numbers are disappointing.