X018: Microsoft Has Acquired Obsidian Entertainment

During an Inside Xbox stream from its X018 event in Mexico City, Microsoft announced that it has purchased Irvine, California-based developer Obsidian Entertainment. The studio is known for its work on a variety of celebrated RPGs, including Fallout: New Vegas, South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Pillars of Eternity. Kotaku’s Jason Schreier reported that the deal was close to being finalized early last month.

The purchase of Obsidian is the latest in a series of moves that Microsoft has made to expand its internal development portfolio. At this year’s E3, the company revealed that it had purchased four studios: Playground Games(Forza Horizon 4), Ninja Theory(Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice), Undead Labs(State of Decay 2), and Compulsion Games(We Happy Few). It also opened an entirely new studio, The Initiative, which is located in Santa Monica, California. After the acquisitions of Obsidian and inXile, the latter of which was also announced at X018, Microsoft now has 13 studios in its first party development family.

The Xbox One has been successful, but a lack of meaningful exclusives has prevented it from matching the meteoric success of the PlayStation 4, which has sold 80 million units worldwide. In a year where Sony has stolen the show with God of War, Detroit: Become Human, and Marvel’s Spider-Man, Microsoft has released Forza Horizon 4, Sea of Thieves, and State of Decay 2, but critical reception for the latter two games was mixed. Sony also appears to hold the advantage with its unreleased exclusives in Days Gone, The Last of Us: Part II, Ghost of Tsushima, and Death Stranding. Microsoft has surefire hits on its hands with Gears 5 and Halo Infinite, but it remains to be seen what Xbox gamers will think of Crackdown 3, which will finally release on February 15, 2019 after multiple delays. The game was originally scheduled to release in summer 2016.

As the current generation enters its sixth year, it seems doubtful that any of Microsoft’s new studios are developing games for Xbox One. The company is hard at work on its next console, and it’s going to need a strong lineup of exclusives to convince gamers to open their wallets.