The Obsidian Entertainment boss thinks it’s worth negotiating with “people you can sit down and have a beer with”. So Microsoft has met those criteria.

At Microsoft, the acquisition of Obsidian was one of the biggest news stories of 2018, confirming that games like Pillars of Eternity and Fallout: New Vegas are moving to the Xbox ecosystem. However, this was almost scuppered as the development studio already had another acquisition offer in the pipeline that, if accepted, could have changed Microsoft’s plans.

A curious anecdote has survived about this story. Obsidian boss Feargus Urquhart explained in an interview with GamesIndustry, they were approached by a major publisher with a takeover offer. Still, he turned it down because the publisher was “having a hard time hiring the right people”.

For that reason, and because the publisher’s main intention was to keep Obsidian developers busy with other games, Urquhart ultimately declined the offer. The studio boss believes that the takeover offer “has to be a cultural fit”, meaning it has to be people “you can sit down for a beer with, and if not, you might have to think again”.

Although we don’t know which publishers tried to purchase Obsidian in 2018, the story ended with a happy ending for Microsoft and Obsidian, as this alliance has produced very positive results. A Grounded with major updates, a The Outer Worlds 2 that was shown off at the recent E3, and an Avowed that, although not shown at the event, will be making news soon, not to mention everything that may be coming in the future.

Source: GamesIndustry