The unexpected shadow-drop release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on April 22 sent shockwaves through the gaming community. While fans were thrilled, indie developers who had planned their game launches for the same day found themselves in a challenging position.
Jonas Antonsson, co-founder of indie publisher Raw Fury, shared his thoughts on social media about the impact of such "massive" shadow-drops by big titles. He noted that these surprise releases can overshadow everything else, causing smaller games to be "buried." Antonsson expressed his personal excitement for the remastered Oblivion, appreciating its new lease on life for a fresh generation of players. However, he highlighted the struggles faced by indie developers, who lack the resources to compete with such giants. "We don’t have the cash nor muscle to throw around, so everything is carefully planned," he explained, emphasizing the strategic timing of releases to maximize visibility.
Antonsson specifically mentioned Post Trauma, a puzzle horror game developed by Red Soul Games and published by Raw Fury on the same day. Inspired by PS2 era classics, Post Trauma involves navigating environments, facing threats, and encountering other characters in the mysterious Gloom. Antonsson expressed empathy for the team and the developer who had dedicated years to the project, feeling the impact of being overshadowed.
Raw Fury's sarcastic tweet on April 22, "Thank god Post Trauma was the only notable release of today and nothing else happened!", underscored their frustration.
From Bethesda and Microsoft's perspective, the shadow-drop of Oblivion Remastered has been a resounding success. The game has seen a strong debut on Steam, dominating online conversations with players reveling in nostalgic elements like quirky character faces, classic bugs, and beloved memes.
Even other titles heavily promoted by Microsoft have felt the impact of Oblivion Remastered. This week, Kepler Interactive, the publisher of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, acknowledged the 'Barbenheimer' effect of launching during the same week as Oblivion Remastered. Both games were launched directly into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
For Raw Fury, setting the release date for Post Trauma without knowing about Oblivion Remastered's shadow-drop may simply be remembered as an unfortunate coincidence.
For those diving into Oblivion Remastered, we offer a comprehensive guide covering everything from an expansive Interactive Map, complete Walkthroughs for the Main Questline and every Guild Quest, tips on How to Build the Perfect Character, Things to Do First, every PC Cheat Code, and much more.
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