SnowxSakura Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 (edited) " Microsoft is finalizing a deal to acquire the independent development studio Obsidian Entertainment, according to three people briefed on the negotiations. We don’t know if ink is on paper yet, and plenty of major acquisition deals have fallen apart in the final hours, but those close to the companies believe it is all but done. One person with knowledge of the deal told Kotaku they’d heard it was “90%” finished. Said a second person: “It’s a matter of when, not if.” Obsidian, best known for its work on critically acclaimed role-playing games like Knights of the Old Republic II (2004) and Fallout: New Vegas(2010), has been independent since it was founded in 2003. The Irvine, California-based studio has long been beloved by RPG fans, but has often faced financial strains, nearly going out of business in 2012 before it signed a deal for an online tank game and launched a Kickstarter for the isometric throwback that would become Pillars of Eternity. One compelling argument for the sale is that being owned by a company with deep pockets will offer Obsidian stability and resources the likes of which it has never had before. “We do not comment on rumors or speculation,” said a Microsoft spokesperson. “Unfortunately, we don’t comment on rumors or speculation other than to say that the Rumors album by Fleetwood Mac still holds up,” said an Obsidian spokesperson. In late 2017, Obsidian announced that it was developing a new RPG that would be published by Private Division, a label of 2K Games designed to fund mid-sized games. The companies did not say anything about which consoles the RPG will be available on, and it’s not clear how this sale will affect that game. One option is for Microsoft to buy out the contract; another is for Microsoft to simply inherit it, allowing Obsidian to tie up its loose ends as part of the acquisition. “While it is our policy not to comment on rumors or speculation, we look forward to publishing the upcoming RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, and remain confident in the team there to deliver an outstanding game,” said a representative for Private Division. This would be a huge move for the company behind Xbox, which has been on a shopping spree this year, snapping up four game studios including Playground (Forza Horizon) and Ninja Theory (Hellblade). Its most recent notable game studio purchase before that was Mojang, the maker of Minecraft. Microsoft has kept Minecraft multiplatform, even enabling cross-play between Switch and Xbox One players, but console makers usually buy studios with the intent for those studios to make games for their consoles, not the competition. Microsoft’s biggest weakness this generation has been its stable of first-party developers, and with Obsidian, the company now has an RPG-focused studio that can help it compete against the PlayStation’s strong lineup. A person familiar with goings-on at Microsoft said the company has been looking to bolster its PC development, which makes the PC-focused Obsidian a perfect fit. Obsidian and Microsoft have a checkered history. Before the release of the Xbox One, Obsidian was working on an Xbox-exclusive role-playing game, published by Microsoft, called Stormlands. Tense disagreements between the two companies led Microsoft to cancel the game in 2012, and to some involved it was hard to imagine the pair working together again. The Xbox department is under different leadership now, however, with Phil Spencer taking the top role in early 2014. And the move appears to make sense for both parties." https://kotaku.com/sources-microsoft-is-close-to-buying-obsidian-1829614135 Edited November 11, 2018 by SnowxSakura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidson2004 Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Could this mean that KOTOR makes a comeback after all this time? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durandal Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 please don't! This is a bad dream! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarFang7 Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Fallout: New Vegas 2 confirmed ?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divecomb Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 I Would Not play Any Microsoft Windows Xbox Exclusive Games except forza and forza horizon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Undead Wolf Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 This would be a big win for Microsoft. Obsidian are a great studio and they've made some fantastic games. It would benefit Xbox a lot to have some "exclusive" RPG's instead of just shooters and racing games. Of course, as a PlayStation gamer, it would be a shame if I couldn't play Obsidian's future titles on my platform of choice, but in a way I'm also kind of glad that Microsoft have taken the major criticism they've had this generation of not having enough exclusives on-board and are endeavouring to change that. With this news along with all their other recent studio acquisitions, Microsoft are set to go guns blazing next generation and give Sony a run for their money. At the very least they aren't going to be the pushover they were this generation. This is good for the industry as far as I'm concerned because it'll force PlayStation to do better as well. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihiris- Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 Yeah this was rumored for a couple of months now, I'm sure there's more acquisitions to come as well. It seems MS is going after talented, yet financially struggling dev teams. Which is good for both parties involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asvinia Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 RIP Obsidian, my only consolation will be that I will probably be able to play whatever games they make on PC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puchteca Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 The problem is the Obsidian of today isn't the same as the Obsidian that made KOTOR II, New Vegas.. etc. Most of those people are long gone now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z1MZUM Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 Honestly, it's too late for the Xbox regardless of the amazing hardware that no one ever talks about. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starcrunch061 Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 (edited) That's too bad for me. I've always liked Obsidian's games. Great concepts, sometimes shoddy development, but still always entertaining. My dreams of Alpha Protocol 2 are dashed. 12 hours ago, Undead Wolf said: Microsoft are set to go guns blazing next generation and give Sony a run for their money. At the very least they aren't going to be the pushover they were this generation. This is good for the industry as far as I'm concerned because it'll force PlayStation to do better as well. Indeed. Japanese companies always need competition, or they end up killing themselves through excess. Sony's gotten pretty fat and lazy this generation. Edited October 10, 2018 by starcrunch061 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowxSakura Posted October 10, 2018 Author Share Posted October 10, 2018 1 hour ago, starcrunch061 said: That's too bad for me. I've always liked Obsidian's games. Great concepts, sometimes shoddy development, but still always entertaining. My dreams of Alpha Protocol 2 are dashed. Indeed. Japanese companies always need competition, or they end up killing themselves through excess. Sony's gotten pretty fat and lazy this generation. Honestly I hope they eventually make an alpha protocol 2, really enjoyed the first one a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majob Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 (edited) Personally, I don't like it when MS pulls these kinds of moves because the company usually ends up in the gutter but Obsidian with big pockets behind them could finally get past their tendancy to run overdue and overbudget. MS seems determined to have their monopoly it seems Edited October 10, 2018 by majob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omirid Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 Well... Hopefully Fallout 76 isn't a big flop or else I'll be looking to Obsidian to conjure up New Vegas 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowxSakura Posted October 10, 2018 Author Share Posted October 10, 2018 12 minutes ago, Omirid said: Well... Hopefully Fallout 76 isn't a big flop or else I'll be looking to Obsidian to conjure up New Vegas 2. Pretty sure Bethesda stated that they wouldn't allow external developers to work on fallout again 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majob Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 1 minute ago, SnowxSakura said: Pretty sure Bethesda stated that they wouldn't allow external developers to work on fallout again Probably got upset that Obsidian made a better Fallout game than them in spite of it being riddled with bugs 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omirid Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 1 minute ago, SnowxSakura said: Pretty sure Bethesda stated that they wouldn't allow external developers to work on fallout again Probably because they know Fallout: New Vegas was a much better game than Fallout 3. I do wish they would allow Obsidian to have another go at creating another one. After Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 seeming like a copy paste online DLC for Fallout 4 I'm convinced Bethesda just aren't cutting it anymore. But I guess we'll just have to wait and see upon release but I'm not holding my breath. From a gameplay perspective it already looks, and plays exactly like Fallout 4 but being completely online and a little bigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowxSakura Posted October 10, 2018 Author Share Posted October 10, 2018 17 minutes ago, majob said: Probably got upset that Obsidian made a better Fallout game than them in spite of it being riddled with bugs Just a matter of opinion really, I liked fallout 3 a lot more than new Vegas, although old world blues is one of the best dlcs in the franchise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFoxie Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 (edited) On 10/9/2018 at 7:08 PM, StarFang7 said: Fallout: New Vegas 2 confirmed . Pretty sure Bethesda owns that IP and if this is true I really doubt they'll just let MS make a sequel to New Vegas just cause they bought Obsidian. Edited October 18, 2018 by FireFoxie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberJapanGamer Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 (edited) Money owns all. Half life is coming to Xbox one, any thing can happen with Microsoft unveiling PC cross play with Xbox one via keyboard and mouse in November. Be prepared for many cross play games between PC and Xbox one, some old, some new. Fable 4 MMORPG? Black Desert MMORPG? World of Warcraft MMORPG? Hugely increased player base on all games available via PC and Xbox one cross play due to the two formats sharing the same servers. Any thing is possible with PC cross play with Xbox one, hold tight. It's coming ! More will be available from XO November 2018 Edited October 19, 2018 by CyberJapanGamer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarFang7 Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 (edited) On 10/18/2018 at 3:48 PM, FireFoxie said: Pretty sure Bethesda owns that IP and if this is true I really doubt they'll just let MS make a sequel to New Vegas just cause they bought Obsidian. Too bad, I enjoyed the studio's take on Fallout. Edited October 20, 2018 by StarFang7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidnightDragon Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 We'll see how this plays out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus__777 Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 If it's true, then I'm happy for Obsidian. Financial stability will hopefully allow them to produce more ambitious games...and take the time to do it right. As for platforms, I have PC, Xbox and PlayStation. Gotta say, my heart has always been PC (and I own every generation of Xbox and PlayStation), if for no other reason than I hate monopolies and the price point for games on console is outrageous. And the library of games on consoles is much smaller. I take consolation that if Obsidian goes with Microsoft, they will still reach a large gaming audience through PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowxSakura Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 Announced at X018 Microsoft has confirmed that they now have acquired all of obsidian entertainment https://www.polygon.com/2018/11/10/17959500/obsidian-xbox-acquired-x018-new-vegas-pillars-eternity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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