The rumours are true. Announced at the X018 event at Mexico City, Microsoft has announced that they have acquired Obisidian Entertainment. Known as the developers behind Star Wars Knights Of The Republic II, Fallout: New Vegas, Alpha Protocol, Pillars Of Eternity and Tyranny, we heard about them being close to be acquired by Microsoft last month.
But what we did not expect was that Microsoft also
acquiring inXile Entertainment. This is the team that made Wasteland 2, Torment: Tides Of Numenara, The Bard’s Tale IV and are working on Wasteland 3.
Both Obsidian and inXile are made up of veteran developers that once worked under Interplay and both companies have found success revitalising old-school isometric Western RPGs.
Both developers will “continue to operate autonomously and bring their unique talents, IP, and expertise to Microsoft Studios as they build new RPG experiences for our players and fans.” While the two share similar backgrounds and expertise, both will remain independent.
With the acquisition announcement, Microsoft currently has 13 in-house studios. They have significantly invested in bringing more studios as first-party developers as a response to Xbox having less interesting exclusive titles. It is also to bolster the lineup of Xbox Game Pass, the subscription-based service offering access to a list of games, including new releases.
Source: Xbox Wire