Microsoft is now poised to be the leading name in western role-playing games. Alongside Bethesda, it also has experienced studios such as Obsidian and InXile Entertainment under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella. That’s a lot of RPG experience right there, which will pay off in the years to come.

With 23 studios working on Xbox games, Microsoft is still looking to add more game studios to its near-mint collection.

A couple of years ago, the Xbox One was seen as a perfectly alright console that was being completely outclassed on the first-party front by Sony. These days? It’s a much better system, has a beefy little brother in the Xbox One X and is still being outclassed by Sony on the first-party games front…but not for long. With a …

This generation won’t be as fondly remembered by Microsoft, as Sony and Nintendo left the brand in the dust thanks to their own arsenal of high quality games that resulted in some of the finest system-sellers around. Microsoft is ending its generation with more stable footing, and if the future is any indication, it’s going to be establishing its own rhythm and flow as it releases more original games in the future.

Microsoft's recent acquisition of RPG heavyweight studios InXile and Obsidian was such a good deal, that it resulted in InXile boss Brian Fargo cancelling his plans for retirement from the games industry.

The 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.

It’s rare that a game allows me to use my failures in the game itself to build a unique narrative, and that in itself allowed me to approach an RPG from a new light. Ironically the lack of a Game Over led me to be more cautious, as I know the world has evolved, even if just by a tiny bit, as a result of my failure.

Torment: Tides of Numenera is a thematic successor to Planescape: Torment, but that doesn't mean it's pure fan service. This is a new game, complete with world building and unique experiences, but of course there will be some references and easter eggs for those who loved its inspiration.