Obsidian Entertainmentis a storied studio that has released some classic RPGs includingFallout: New VegasandStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2. However, recently the studio has experimented more with its upcoming titleAvowedand the survival titleGrounded.Obsidian Entertainmentwas also acquired by Xbox in 2018, not only securing the studio’s titles as first-party exclusives, but also increasing the resources that the studio has available for development.
Obsidian Entertainment currently has more titles in development than ever beforewithGroundedstill receiving updates,The Outer Worlds 2recently being revealed,Avowedstill in the works, and a secret project that the studio says is in a playable state. This is especially impressive considering how massive and complicated their games are. It is difficult to imagine the studio being able to fund so many projects at once if it had not been acquired by Xbox, which opens the door for the studio to do even more experimental projects in the future.
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Obsidian Entertainment’s History Before Grounded
Obsidian Entertainment has a sizable library of releasesthat have historically been RPGs exploring a variety of genres. It all started with the release ofStar Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lordsin 2004, which was followed up byNeverwinter Nights 2in 2006. Then, Obisidian Entertainment took its formula to the espionage genre with the cult classicAlpha Protocolin 2010, alongside the laudedFallout: New Vegasthat same year.
These titles were followed up with the action-RPGDungeon Siege 3in 2011 before the studio went quiet for a few years until 2014, when it releasedSouth Park: The Stick of Truth. Obsidian Entertainment then created an entirely new universe for its own series of computer RPGs with the release ofPillars of Eternityin 2015. The mythology-themed sci-fi MMOSkyforgereleased that same year, and thePathfinder Adventuresgame was released in 2016. Then Obsidian Entertainment allowed players to step into the role of the villain withTyrannyin 2016, and explored being a pirate inPillars of Eternity 2: Deadfirein 2018. Most recently, Obsidian Entertainment releasedThe Outer Worldsin 2019 beforepushing its boundaries withGroundedin 2020.
How Grounded Differs From Obsidian Entertainment’s Other Titles
One impressive aspect ofGroundedis how completely it diverts from Obsidian Entertainment’s typical approach to game design. The most obvious aspect of this is thatGroundedis the first survival game made by Obsidian, but it goes deeper as well. Firstly,Groundedis the first Early Access title that Obsidian Entertainment has released. This allowed the studio to get feedback straight from the game’s community while developers continued to finish the game. The nature ofGroundedalso led to Obsidian Entertainment improving aspects of its game design that hadn’t been its focus in past titles, likeGrounded’s enemy AI.
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Groundedalso has a more open design philosophy than most Obsidian Entertainment games. Its RPG titles give the player a lot of freedom in how they approach situations and interact with the worlds of the games, but there is a linear aspect to the story and player progression. Players aren’t able to just go to planets in any order inKnights of the Old Republic 2,or tackle quests in any order inPillars of Eternity. This is much different inGroundedwhere players have the freedom to gather resources and tackle objectives at their own pace. This is made all the more difficult for the game’s developer asGroundedhas consistently been updated with new contentthat has to be balanced with what already exists.
Where Obisidian Entertainment Could Go From Grounded
The success ofGroundedopens up possibilities for Obsidian Entertainment’s future. There are manydifferent genres that Obsidian could tacklenext, and it could be interesting to see how the studio approaches more games that aren’t RPGs. This could see Obsidian Entertainment making a first-person shooter, a horror title, or even a competitive multiplayer game while also developing the RPGs it has built its name on. This works especially well now, as Xbox’s strategy with Game Pass has seen the company trying to release as wide a variety of games as possible.
Groundedcould also lead to a change in Obsidian Entertainment’s business model, and could lead to the company exploring more opportunities like Early Access so fans and players have a role in development. This could allow its games to become even stronger than they historically have been, and lead to some interesting ideas and concepts making it in. Some ofGrounded’s design philosophies should also make it into Obsidian’s titles.Obsidian’s approach toward RPGs has changed over the years, but with howGroundedhas found a playerbase it could evolve even further to explore how to make its RPGs as open and freeform.
Regardless of how much of an impactGroundedhas on the future of Obsidian Entertainment, there are many directions that the studio could go, especially with the new technology of next-gen consoles as well asengines like Unreal Engine 5that likely have a large impact on how Obsidian approaches its games. Hopefully, the studio will learn from the positive reception ofGroundedto grow and evolve so it can be as strong as possible.
Groundedis available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
