In the world of Western RPGs,Obsidian Entertainmentis a name to know. This American video game developer was founded in June 2003, shortly before the closure of Black Isle Studios by ex-Black Isle employees. While that name has not been seen in a long time, Black Isle Studios is one of the original pioneers of the CRPG genre, being the developer behind the original twoFalloutgames,Planescape: Torment, theIcewind Daleseries, and the publisher of mostBaldur’s Gategames.Obsidian Entertainmentcarried on this legacy, becoming known as the developer ofStar Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith LordsandFallout: New Vegas, among several other things.
After a long absence from the genre, Obsidian helda successful Kickstarter campaignto releasePillars of Eternityin 2015. Following some other projects, Obsidian later releasedPillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire. Shortly after that, the studio was relieved of its financial difficulties via an acquisition by Microsoft. The first game it released under Microsoft’s banner wasThe Outer Worlds, a spiritual successor toFallout: New Vegas. The company’s history currently ends with the Early Access release ofGrounded, but this RPG powerhouse still has plenty of projects left. Even if Obsidian’s name is not quite as relevant in the modern-day as Bethesda or BioWare, it still puts out excellent Western RPGs, and has several in the works right now.
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Grounded
Among Obsidian’s output,Groundedis a special case. The company is no stranger to experimenting with other genres, butGroundedleaves the usual CRPG formatbehind in favor of a survival crafting game. Players take control of children who have been shrunk down to the size of an ant, and must survive in an overgrown backyard. As well as starvation and dehydration, players must also survive the attacks of a wide variety of insects and arachnids. While the game was expected to come out of Early Access in 2021, it is still receiving content updates as of February 2022 with no end in sight. Still,Groundedhas come a long way, so fans of the genre may want to check it out.
Avowed
Avowedis both more indicative of Obsidian’s normal output, and a clear marker of where the company plans to head. Set in the same world asPillars of Eternity,Avowedwill be Obsidian’s major modern-AAA first-person RPG. It appears thatAvowedis meant to take on the roleof the company’sSkyrim, whileThe Outer Worldscontinues to serve as aFalloutequivalent. Very little about the game has been revealed, but even in the CG reveal trailer, the similarities toThe Elder Scrollsare plain to see. It will be interesting to explore thePillars of Eternitysetting from a new angle once this presumably open-world action RPG is ready.
The Outer Worlds 2
Two projects are a lot to take on for a company that used to be fairly small, and there is a real possibility that a third project will be released before either of those two. Surprising many fans,The Outer Worlds 2was revealed at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2021. Very little is known about the game other than the tagline “New solar system, new crew, sameOuter Worlds.” It is expected to be similar to the first game, which should please fans who aren’t likely to getthe typicalFalloutexperiencefrom Bethesda anytime soon.
Pentiment
The last game Obsidian Entertainment may be currently working on is only a rumor, but it sounds plausible. In November 2021, a title calledProject Missouri, later amended toPentiment, was leaked. Supposedly, this will be a small, experimental game that takes place in 16th century Europe. It will be a murder mystery game that is not planned to have any combat, similar to themodern CRPG classicDisco Elysium. This mysterious title is said to be directed by Josh Sawyer, the lead designer behindFallout: New VegasandPillars of Eternity. This sounds like a call back to Obsidian’s heyday, which its newer AAA games are getting away from. This title has yet to be announced, but hopefully it is both real and a triumphant return to theObsidianof days long past.
