Home Gaming Microsoft has bought Obsidian Entertainment and inXile Entertainment

Microsoft has bought Obsidian Entertainment and inXile Entertainment

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Obsidian (1)

Microsoft and its Xbox gaming division may not have a consistent number of first-party games to rival Sony’s PlayStation dominance, but the future is starting to look far rosier for team green. If you happen to be patient that is. Xbox has been on a buying spree recently, adding a number of studios to their brand in the form of Hellblade’s Ninja Theory, State of Decay 2’s Undead Labs and Forza Horizon’s Playground Games.

That number of studios working for team green grew to thirteen over the weekend, as Microsoft announced at X018 that they had shelled out some cash to acquire legendary RPG studio Obsidian Entertainment, and had nabbed InXile Entertainment as well. While both studios will still have a level of independence available to them, Microsoft says that the acquisition will allow for “new RPG experiences for our players and fans.”

“It was important for us to find studio partners who have strong creative visions, a mastery of their medium and are expert world-builders,” corporate VP of Microsoft Studios Matt Booty said in a press release via VG247.

Obsidian and inXile embody all of these qualities while also bringing expertise on the PC platform and a unique RPG focus to the table. They will continue to operate autonomously with their unique talents, IP and expertise. As part of Microsoft Studios, Obsidian and inXile will have the support and freedom to fully realize their creative ambitions on both existing franchises and new RPG projects.

Not bad, not bad at all. Microsoft may have played catch-up with Sony this generation, but the current focus from the brand is one that is based on an eye towards the future. With Xbox Game Pass, new streaming technology and a focused ecosystem of consoles in addition to all the recent hiring of talent through recent studio purchases, Microsoft is laying one hell of a foundation for the road ahead.

Last Updated: November 12, 2018

20 Comments

  1. So, I say, 2019 will be the year of announcement of the next generation of consoles. Hopefully Sony is watching this space carefully, because what made the PS4 way better than the Xbone was its library of exclusive games. To be honest, I do not favour one console over the next in general, but I simply chose to invest in the PS4 because they had so many more exclusive and high quality titles than MS. If it had been the reverse, I would have bought an Xbone!

    Reply

    • For the Emperor!

      November 12, 2018 at 08:09

      I got the XBone because I needed a BluRay player, and on Black Friday last year it was on special for just a little more than a BluRay player…regretted it as soon as God of War hit!

      Reply

  2. Kromas

    November 12, 2018 at 08:13

    As long as their “Exclusives” are console based I am good. Bring everything to the PC cause that is the true winner.

    Reply

    • Lord Chaos

      November 12, 2018 at 08:41

      Gonna start seeing a lot of company exclusives over consile/pc exclusive in near future (I think)
      Where MS has PC and Xbox, they don’t need xbox exclusives if they can cater for 2.

      Looking forward to see what Obsidian will do when they get a bit of money.

      Reply

      • Kromas

        November 12, 2018 at 08:59

        I am waiting for the next Star Wars game from EA. Because it will be a spectacular failure forcing Disney to cancel the exclusive IP deal and then MS can get Obsidian to make a Star Wars game. Maybe not Knights but something in a similar vein.

        Reply

  3. Ghost In The Rift

    November 12, 2018 at 08:50

    Just a damn shame they don’t have the Kotor IP anymore.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief

      November 12, 2018 at 09:04

      ^^^^^^

      Reply

    • MaSeKind

      November 12, 2018 at 12:25

      Yep, but then again, you now have some of the most amazing RPG devs/writers/artist there is all under one “roof”. And while my initial reaction was “oh crap”, I think they could probably do amazing things if MS will just throw money at them.

      Also, do as Chris Avellone said and fire the management and just take the devs. And while they’re at it, hire Chris back as well.

      Reply

  4. Pieter Kruger

    November 12, 2018 at 08:57

    XO18 was nice, not great but nice! Seems the cloud powa is working just fine with Crackdown 3? Wasteland 3 looks great, never was on my radar until MS bought InXcile. A Ton of games coming to GamePass……I have no excuse not to play Mutant Year Zero now! $100 Price drop for Xbox consoles incoming etc….yeah, XO18 was really nice. Hope Playstation Experience 2018 is also good….oh wait..?

    Reply

  5. Original Heretic

    November 12, 2018 at 09:11

    So then no Pillars 2 on PS, I’m guessing…

    Reply

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