When you look at the video game landscape, you’ll notice that a lot of the big-name publishers are trying to make sure they have plenty of firepower in terms of exclusive games. Some are going so far as to buy some publishers, ensuring that they either solely work for them, or at the very least, deliver a number of high-quality console and PC exclusives. Microsoft has been extremely aggressive in this way, acquiring Obsidian Entertainment–one of the best RPG makers in the world–in 2018.
Obsidian studio head Feargus Urquhart explained why things went down the way they did, praising Xbox Studio head Phil Spencer for being “no BS” and ensuring the team that the publisher wouldn’t interfere with the studio’s culture or drive to make great games.
“I didn’t know Phil Spencer well at that time, I probably only talked to him once or twice up to that point,” Urquhart said to IGN. “But what’s so interesting with Phil is he is this–I don’t know–I don’t want to say ‘persona’ in the end, because he is Phil Spencer and because he runs all Microsoft games. But now knowing him, and even what I knew about him back then, his reputation was just someone who was authentic and someone who doesn’t BS and loves games. And that was the trust in that.”
So far, the partnership has worked out well. The team delivered an incredible RPG recently via The Outer Worlds with more coming in the future.
Source: IGN