inXile Entertainment's acquisition by Microsoft dawned on everyone as a surprise. Whereas there had been plenty of rumors (turned out to be correct) suggesting that Obsidian would be acquired, this came out of left field instead.
In particular, inXile still has Wasteland 3 scheduled to be released next year on non-Microsoft platforms like Mac/Linux and PlayStation 4. Backers have asked what this acquisition means and the developer has now confirmed they'll keep their existing backer commitments.
We'll be keeping our backer commitments for #BardsTale4 and #Wasteland3. Beyond that is TBD. It's early days yet.
— inile entertainment (@inXile) November 11, 2018
On the subject of Wasteland 3, the game crowdfunded via Fig in late 2016, inXile stated that this deal will only make it better thanks to Microsoft's additional resources, testing et cetera.
EXCITING TIMES! @Inxile_Ent is joining the Microsoft family! Most looking forward to how this helps us improve Wasteland3 & whatever’s up next. Got a great team full of wild ideas & are at that great stage of dev where it’s all coming together. Can’t wait to share it with y’all!
— Ben (@thebcm) November 11, 2018
If it does, it will be for the better - more resources, more testing, etc.
— inile entertainment (@inXile) November 11, 2018
In April this year, the developers said the game was hitting all major milestones and was on track to be launched in Q4 2019. Here's a brief recap of the main features.
- A party-based role-playing game, with a renewed focus on our trademark complex story reactivity and strategic combat.
- By including vehicles, environmental dangers, and a revamped, more fluid action system, we are evolving on Wasteland 2's deep tactical turn-based combat and unique encounter design.
- Play by yourself or with a friend in story-driven synchronous or asynchronous multiplayer. Choices open up (or close off) mission opportunities, areas to explore, story arcs, and lots of other content.
- Your Ranger Base is a core part of the experience. As you help the local people and establish a reputation in Colorado, quests and narrative will force you to make decisions on how to lead.
- The game will be set in the savage lands of frozen Colorado, where survival is difficult and a happy outcome is never guaranteed. Players will face difficult moral choices and make sacrifices that will change the game world.
- Wasteland 3 will feature a deep and engaging story utilizing a newly-revamped dialog tree system from the celebrated writers of Torment: Tides of Numenera.
Overall, to those worried about the acquisition, inXile said they will keep being the same kind of company focused on roleplaying games, with additional flexibility to come up with ideas and the opportunity to realize them.
That's the plan - to keep being us and @Obsidian to keep being Obsidian. We're looking forward to it.
— inile entertainment (@inXile) November 11, 2018
More #RPGs are definitely on the way. We appreciate your support!
— inile entertainment (@inXile) November 11, 2018
A chance for anything, really. That's why this is so exciting. We've got some flexibility here to come up with some ideas and have the opportunity to realize them.
— inile entertainment (@inXile) November 11, 2018
That's what CEO Brian Fargo tried to convey in a video message available on YouTube. Check it out below.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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