Obsidian Entertainment - [Rumour] Acquisition by Microsoft

It was only a few years ago that Obsidian almost went under because of MS pulling out of a deal. I guess if the owners are ready to cash out then this could be good for them, but as for the PC gamer well MS does not give 2 shits about them. As others have said they want all games in their walled garden of win 10/Xbox games as a monthly charge service.

Yea, it kinda really depends on the staff at Obsidian, and what happens with them. If the core group all sell out and leave the company, then it would effectively mean the end of the company as we have known it. If some or all of them stay on, then they might make some more good rpgs for Xbox and PC.

My biggest concern is Microsoft, in that they might force the games meant for the PC market to be windows 10 only, by making it only compatible with the newest direct x, or some other means…because you know how paranoid and how much of a hard sell Microsoft has done in their campaign to convert all pc owners to windows 10. That would leave me out in the cold because I will have nothing to do with windows 10.

It would be completely hilarious, if it's actually true.

I don't know why we're taking unsubstantiated rumors seriously.

Not to mention the headline and info is wrong. The rumor is that Obsidian sent a letter of acquisition to Microsoft, not the other way around. If you're going to pass off rumors as news, at least get them straight.

What the fuck is up with the Obsidian Ent hate?? If Pillars 2 isn't good enough, what developers do you not hate?! What, Larian? CD Projekt? Cuz, that's it for anyone making pillars 2 level quality RPGs… unless you go much more indie. I mean, damn, do you guys even play RPGs anymore? How would you have time to hate on every developer making RPGs if you were playing them?

And MS buying them would be horrid. I'm perfectly happy with what they're making now and I would rather buy a fantastic game with bugs than a mediocre, by-the-numbers game with no bugs. The latter is way too common IMHO. The very best RPGs all had bugs on release. Hell, Fallout 2 was bug heaven.

Originally Posted by Arkadia7
Yea, it kinda really depends on the staff at Obsidian, and what happens with them. If the core group all sell out and leave the company, then it would effectively mean the end of the company as we have known it. If some or all of them stay on, then they might make some more good rpgs for Xbox and PC.

My biggest concern is Microsoft, in that they might force the games meant for the PC market to be windows 10 only, by making it only compatible with the newest direct x, or some other means…because you know how paranoid and how much of a hard sell Microsoft has done in their campaign to convert all pc owners to windows 10. That would leave me out in the cold because I will have nothing to do with windows 10.

I’m no fan of MS either, but I must admit Windows 10 has been a rock solid OS for me and the few other computers I’ve installed it on.

Originally Posted by PegasusOrgans
What the fuck is up with the Obsidian Ent hate?? If Pillars 2 isn't good enough, what developers do you not hate?! What, Larian? CD Projekt? Cuz, that's it for anyone making pillars 2 level quality RPGs… unless you go much more indie. I mean, damn, do you guys even play RPGs anymore?

Many of their old fans still feel burned from PoE1.

It's sad, because Deadfire is their most solid RPG yet, and Tyranny their most innovative.

Originally Posted by Arkadia7
My biggest concern is Microsoft, in that they might force the games meant for the PC market to be windows 10 only, by making it only compatible with the newest direct x, or some other means…because you know how paranoid and how much of a hard sell Microsoft has done in their campaign to convert all pc owners to windows 10. That would leave me out in the cold because I will have nothing to do with windows 10.

It's not like you really have a choice. Windows 7 is EOL in less than a year and a half and at that point, it won't even be a supported platform for new software anymore. I mean, some stuff will obviously still work on it for a while, kinda like some stuff still works on WinXP, but it's really just a matter of time before you are on Windows 10. Makes more sense to just get it over with. Or, I guess, move to a different OS.

Originally Posted by Silver Coin
Many of their old fans still feel burned from PoE1.

It's sad, because Deadfire is their most solid RPG yet, and Tyranny their most innovative.

I still do feel burned by PoE and I still support them to hell. Sucker love? Maybe, but both games you mentioned seemed to prove me right. Though I still haven't touched PoEII, cause I maybe, just maybe someone will come along and fix part one…

Would be a shame if they were to be swallowed by MS, because they'd likely be lost to me forever.

That better be just a rumor!

Originally Posted by Arkadia7
That would leave me out in the cold because I will have nothing to do with windows 10.

Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

Obsidian games are already released on Microsoft consoles. Pillars of Eternity, Fallout: New Vegas, Alpha Protocol, etc, all with Xbox releases.

There is a 0% chance Obsidian games will ever be Xbox exclusives. The PC market is their most important market. Maybe you mean they won't be on Sony or Nintendo machines…who cares? They barely sell on those platforms as it is.


Obsidian already has a publisher agreement: with Paradox. Unless you think Microsoft is buying Paradox (incredibly unlikely), this is a non starter.

Worst of all is that MS would force every employee to have windows 10 installed.

Originally Posted by JFarrell71
Obsidian already has a publisher agreement: with Paradox. Unless you think Microsoft is buying Paradox (incredibly unlikely), this is a non starter.

Obsidian cut ties with Paradox after Tyranny. Deadfire is published by Versus Evil, and their next game is funded by Take Two Interactive.

Originally Posted by Silver Coin
Obsidian cut ties with Paradox after Tyranny. Deadfire is published by Versus Evil, and their next game is funded by Take Two Interactive.

Thanks, that's (obviously) news to me. I had no awareness of Versus Evil's existence, despite being a Banner Saga fan.

Hey: at least it's not EA.

The Black Isle veterans still at Obsidian surely want to move on with their lives. Scrounging around for contracts and wondering if you're going to make payroll in 6 months is all well and good when you're a 30-something, but I'm sure most of these guys have had their fill of that several times over and want some stability with their families.

Good on them if they've finally found a buyer.

I would hardly say that Tryanny is there most innovative. I felt they did much better stuff previously. I'd mention a few but there are love hate relationships with a lot of their games and it isn't worth the effort.

I am curious how you determined that Tyranny is their most innovative - please share.

Originally Posted by Silver Coin
Many of their old fans still feel burned from PoE1.

It's sad, because Deadfire is their most solid RPG yet, and Tyranny their most innovative.

Tyranny was described by Obsidian as an experimental RPG, and introduced a lot of non-traditional features and concepts. Many of them made their way into Deadfire.

- Magic crafting
- Self-upgrading skills
- Dual reputation system
- Talent trees
- Wounds
- Afflictions
- Parry & Dodge
- Lore tooltips
- New game +
- Conquest Mode
- Missives
- Artifacts
- The setting itself

Keep in mind innovation isn't always positive. Tyranny suffered because of how experimental most of its features were, but I appreciated the innovation nonetheless.

This sums up everyone in this thread so far:

@Caddy indeed

So, Obsidian - infamous contract workers - potentially get acquired by a partner with nearly infinite wealth.

Microsoft are so large they're not likely to bother micromanaging anything as small as Obsidian. They'll be happy if they get a decent return on any investment and let them have at it.

To me, this seems likely to be a win-win - except for the paranoid moaners who whine on principle.