Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
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Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
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The rumours were right, Microsoft has announced it has acquired Obsidian Entertainment, developer of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords, Alpha Protocol, Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, and South Park: The Stick of Truth, and more.

Whispers of the RPG heavyweights being bought by Microsoft first appeared just over a month ago, and now we know there was a fire giving off all that smoke. Following the release of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire earlier this year, Obsidian has no upcoming announced games.

The announcement was made at the end of Microsoft’s Inside Xbox showcase during X018, and there was also a second sting in the tale for the event – Microsoft has also bought InXile Entertainment, developer of Wasteland 2 & 3, The Bard’s Tale IV, and Torment: Tides of Numenera. InXile is currently deep in development on Wasteland 3.

Both of the studios are CRPG heavyweights and hopefully signal Microsoft’s intentions to make more headway into PC gaming. The big downside is this inevitably means Microsoft exclusivity, which means Xbox and Windows Store releases for InXile and Obsidian’s future titles. Microsoft will also be able to have the final say on what these studios are even working on, which could present for those looking after more hardcore experiences.

Nevertheless, the acquisitions could also spend great things for these two studios. There’s a heck of a lot of Interplay alumni contained at these two outfits, and they’ve both been getting by on tight budgets and Kickstarter funding in order to get by. Microsoft’s got significant cash to splash so the leash could come off, so to speak, and InXile and Obsidian could begin to get a little wild with their projects.

It brings to a close a busy year for Microsoft Studios. The publisher has now acquired six studios in 2018 alone, bringing the grand total up to 13 game development teams. Microsoft used E3 to announced it had snapped up Playground Games, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, and Compulsion Games.

Fine news for a pair of fine studios? Or are you worried about InXile and Obsidian being under Microsoft’s stewardship? Let us know!