Microsoft rumoured to purchase Obsidian Entertainment

[Mnementh]

shikamaru317 said:

Bofferbrauer2 said:

Obsidian is one of the oldest independent studios with a very dedicated fanbase. The studio had been formed when their previous company, Black Isle Studios (hence the name, Black Isle, Obsidian, geddit?) got bought up, which most employees didn't like one bit. You can be damn sure that a similar exodus would happen if Microsoft would buy Obsidian, draining the Studio off all it's talent. Basically what Microsoft would get would be a bunch of IP and nobody anymore to continue them.

I highly doubt that those devs like living hand-to-mouth as an independent studio any more than the head, Feargus Erquhart, does. It's my understanding that there have been weeks and sometimes even months where the financial situation at Obsidian was so bad that they couldn't pay some of the developers until they got their next big in-flow of cash, either from a game's release or from a kickstarter. The studio has already had to downsize multiple times, if I was a dev there I would be worried about being in the next wave of layoffs. Being bought by MS means a steady, guaranteed paycheck and considerably more job security, even if does result in a loss of some creative freedom. 

Yeah, I agree. But the problem is somewhere else. Obsidian offers stuff in a niche, that is not big but has very engaged fans. Before Pillars there was basically nothing in that niche for years. A studio so significant going to a first-party is a problem, as the content gets locked into specific platforms. I wouldn't mind if Obsidian goes to Ubisoft, Sega or THQ Nordic.