Microsoft acquiredObsidian Entertainmentback in 2018, a studio known for its past work onFallout: New Vegasand thePillars of Eternityfranchise. Now,Obsidian Entertainmentis hard at work on several new titles that may have never seen the light of day without this acquisition.
Whether it’s Obsidian’s “Big Two” on the horizon—AvowedandThe Outer Worlds 2—or its smaller games in some stage of development—continued work onGroundedor the development ofJosh Sawyer’s RPG—there’ a lot coming from Obsidian in the next few years. Of course, that builds a lot of hype, but managing expectations even out of great studios is always a wise move.
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Obsidian Entertainment: Grounded
While some will always think of Obsidian as a house of RPGs,Groundedis a survival gameset in the backyard dealing with bugs and other critters. It was released in game preview/early access in mid-2020. Thankfully, due to this nature and Obsidian’s online feature board, fans can have some pretty clear expectations for the year. First,Groundedis expected to have its full release in 2022, leaving its game preview/early access state.
Obsidian is currently working on Termites and some generalized Quality of Life/inventory management features. In the planned stage, not being worked on actively quite yet, is a ton of features: Act 1 ofGrounded’s story (and eventually a fully completable story); improvements to graphic options, storage management, birds, and other interactions; additional crafting stations, BURG.L quests, and weapons; the Ant Queen and Ant Pheromone control;insect pet enhancements; and higher tier armor, weapons, and tools.
Obsidian states that these are roughly a few months off but may likely serve as the first major update of 2022. Future goals and considerations include a ton of base blueprints, more control in options and settings, additional crafting materials, backyard changing events, weather, and more creatures, insects, and environments. There’s little doubt that, by the end of the year,Groundedwill be a more fleshed-out game; beyond that, fans will just need to wait and see what Obsidian has cooking.
Obsidian Entertainment: Pentiment
Thanks to Jeff Grubb and Windows Central’s Jez Corden, fans know thatFallout: New Vegasand Pillars of Eternity’s Josh Sawyer’s mysterious secret project is an “indie-style effort” and “narrative RPG adventure” known asPentiment. Players are said to take on the role of a 16th-century European investigator looking to solve a murder. Supposedly,Pentimentis influenced byDisco Elysiumand will feature investigations, accusations, branching narrative designs, and severe consequences.
According to Grubb, themurder mystery RPGPentimentis aiming for a 2022 release, but the keyword there is “aiming.” Still, if that’s the case, then Obsidian and Sawyer fans can expect news, trailers, and more forPentimentto begin dropping sometime this year. It may not receive as much care, attention, and news releases as something likeAvowed, since it is a smaller “indie” level effort by Obsidian, but it’s something fans should keep an eye on—for news, trailers, and more this year.
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Obsidian Entertainment: The Outer Worlds 2
Even thoughPentimentis unannounced, there’s reason to believe fans will learn more about it this year thanThe Outer Worlds 2. The game was first announced at E3, with a hilarious trailer that suggested it was in early development. However, reports since then have suggested thatThe Outer Worlds 2has been in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S since 2019. As such, it’s not impossible that more information on the game comes out this year, but fans shouldn’t expect too much.
Depending on a ton of factors, including development team size and the pandemic, it’s not unlikely fans get a trailer at one of the bigger events, but expecting more than that wouldn’t be wise. Some have peggedThe Outer Worlds 2as a mid-2020s title (crudely around 2025) in Xbox’s RPG pipeline, withtitles likeStarfieldandAvoweddominating the next year or two.
Obsidian Entertainment: Avowed
Now,Avowedis probably the biggest question mark. There is some expectation that it is the “next up” in Xbox’s RPG pipeline, followingStarfieldthis year. This would suggestAvowedis a 2023 title, and given the sheer hype behind what little is known, it’s likely a Fall 2023 title to capitalize on the holidays. What’s more, Josh Sawyer has also hinted thatPentiment, The Outer Worlds 2,andAvowedare all in playable states—though to what degree is questionable but one could assumePentimentandAvowedare further along thanOuter Worlds 2.
With all of this in mind, it’s possibleOuter Worlds 2takes a silent year and letsAvoweddo all the talking. It is honestly safer to expect more out ofAvowedthanThe Outer Worlds 2, and a stronger cinematic trailer forAvowedsometime around Summer 2022 is reasonable.StarfieldandAvowedmay be Xbox’s biggest showcasefor the year. More news and information is likely to follow that, but it may be more restrained in scope. As 2022 winds down and 2023 picks up, though, it is reasonable to expect more out ofAvowed.
Obsidian Entertainment: Maybe a Surprise or Two?
There is a clear and strongRPG pipeline for Xboxin the works. FollowingStarfieldis, in some order,Avowed, Fable, Inxile’s new RPG,The Outer Worlds 2, andThe Elder Scrolls 6(which reasonably will remain a ghost for quite a few years). Obviously, though, Xbox is working on more than just RPGs, including some of its studios. As games likeRedfall, Grounded,andPentimentare more exclusive and unique titles spread out between major releases, it’s not impossible that followingPentimentandGroundedthat Obsidian has something more in the wings.
It wouldn’t likely be big, but Obsidian has proven itself to be a majorpowerhouse for Xbox:Grounded, Avowed, Pentiment, andThe Outer Worlds 2is a lot.GroundedandPentiment, however, may begin winding down at the end of this year, whileAvowedandThe Outer Worlds 2pick up. What this could suggest is another smaller project emerge, but fans—if anything—should only expect to learn of its existence, if it exists, this year.
At the end of the day, it’s reasonable to expect great things out of Obsidian at a good, reasonable pace. Surprises are welcome, new games are welcome, and stillObsidian Entertainmentknows eyes are on its big RPGs.
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