Obsidian has shared some interesting insights into their acquisition by Microsoft, as well as Avowed in a recent new video.
The company had been making a multi-part documentary about their history, to celebrate their 20th anniversary in the industry. But to explain why this story was significant, we have to talk about events from before this video.
In 2011 Obsidian pitched a game idea for Microsoft, to be a launch game for the Xbox One. Stormlands was to be an action RPG where you had companions, and the game world itself was constantly beset by storms.
Obsidian had high ambitions for the game. They wanted the storms to affect even the magic you used. Microsoft had even higher hopes for the game. They pitched Obsidian on using tech to make a ‘multi-man raid’ – a gameplay feature where as much as 40 players can participating in fighting a single enemy, and later be given gameplay footage unique to each player, all recorded and stored in the cloud.
Unfortunately, as is the case in many stories of Microsoft around this time, they had mismanaged the project. As opposed to not intervening when it was clear that Redfall was not turning out well, Microsoft asked too much from Obsidian for Stormlands. Obsidian proved to not be up to the task of living up to even their own ambitions, even after ramping up employees. And so, as reported by Eurogamer, this story sadly ends with Microsoft cancelling Stormlands in 2012, and Obsidian having to fire a number of staff.
Obsidian continued to have money issues after this cancellation. They took to crowdfunding to chart out a new independent career, first with Pillars of Eternity, and then Tyranny.
Obsidian’s staff heard murmurs about talks with Microsoft, as with other publishers and game companies. Obsidian was pitching Avowed, their next project, to these publishers, but Microsoft, after all these years, had something else in mind for Obsidian – buying the whole studio.
This is what Feargus Urquhart, one of Obsidian’s founders, had to say about the acquisition in this documentary:
“I think when we got acquired, I think for any business owner, when they get acquired, they sort of think differently about it, initially than everybody else. For me, and for my partners, it was, we didn’t have to worry about payroll anymore. And I bring that up because I think it’s a thing, that, being a business owner, you just, it’s a thing. It’s always there, and it’s always there of, like, is there enough money in the bank account that I get to pay everybody?”
Obsidian’s staff then talked about how Microsoft’s terms would allow Obsidian to stay independent in their decision making. Microsoft would allow them to keep their identity, and this arrangement would primarily secure their funding, so they wouldn’t have to be fearful of the times when they were running low on funds and had to fire employees, again.
And so, Obsidian’s ideas with Avowed this time, are their own. It will be a singleplayer RPG, in the mold of how Obsidian makes these games. In fact, it will be their version of what a fantasy first person RPG is. Obsidian is looking to strike a balance between what made them successful with their Pillars of Eternity games, and catering to a broader crowd. This time, it does seem that Microsoft is just going to let Obsidian make this game the best that they can. Hopefully, it will be a better realization of the ambition the two companies originally had with Stormlands.
Avowed will be exclusive to Windows and Xbox Series X|S. You can watch part five of Obsidian’s documentary below.
