Obsidian Entertainment
Latest
'The Outer Worlds' update lifts frame rate caps on PS5 and Xbox Series X
'The Outer Worlds' has not only received its final story expansion, but an update that lifts the frame rate cap for PS5 and Xbox Series X players.
'The Outer Worlds' will land on Nintendo Switch on June 5th
Almost two months after it was delayed, The Outer Worlds has a new Switch release date. It'll arrive on Nintendo's console on June 5th. It was originally scheduled to arrive on Nintendo's console earlier this month, but it was put on hold after the coronavirus outbreak affected Virtuous, the developer which was handling the port.
'The Outer Worlds' comes to Nintendo Switch on March 6th
The Switch version of The Outer Worlds at last has a concrete release date: March 6th. Obsidian's RPG will arrive on Nintendo's console several months after it debuted on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
'The Outer Worlds' DLC is coming next year
Did you enjoy Obsidian's RPG The Outer Worlds, but just wished there was a bit more to explore? We have good news. In a forum post celebrating the three awards it was nominated for at The Game Awards, the team revealed it will be expanding the story next year with DLC. Details on what that includes will be revealed "at a later date," but maybe just don't uninstall that one from your system yet.
'Grounded' is an ant-sized survival game set in a suburban backyard
If The Outer Worlds has got you excited to play whatever Obsidian Entertainment's cooking up next, you won't have to wait too much longer. Its first-person survival title, Grounded, will arrive on Xbox Game Preview next spring.
Obsidian's 'The Outer Worlds' is coming to Nintendo Switch
Obsidian had already revealed its Fallout-esque sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds will debut on PC, Xbox One and PS4 October 25th. Sometime after that, it'll land on Switch too. Nintendo's console is less powerful than Sony and Microsoft's ones, and won't pack as much punch as a typical PC, so it remains to be seen how well The Outer Worlds will run on the hybrid.
Recommended Reading: Social media's effect on the truth
How technology disrupted the truth Katharine Viner, The Guardian Stories spread around Facebook and Twitter before they're even confirmed to be true. By the time they are or aren't, it doesn't matter. The news already made its way around the internet. Facts are often overlooked and confirmation is something sought only after a tweet is fired off. This piece from The Guardian takes a look at how we got here.
Skyforge unveils the Gunner
The Beatles once opined that happiness is a warm gun. Skyforge's Gunner class has a warm gun that also transforms into different modes and allows the class to call down orbital strikes, so one can only conclude that it is a very happy class indeed. Its opponents are somewhat less so. You can see the class in action in the video just past the break, or you can read through the reveal page to get a better idea of how this multi-mode class will play. The cannon has three main modes as well as a variety of sub-firing options, allowing gunners to mow down targets at long range with missile barrages or take out hardened targets with bursts of plasma. Since it's meant to stay at range, the class also sports a variety of defensive tricks like teleporting back and forth. It's exactly the sort of class for you if you like having a big gun, even more so if you want that big gun to shoot all sorts of different stuff.
New Skyforge dev diary is all about combat
Skyforge has just released a new video dev diary focusing on the title's combat, which the devs say is "90 percent of the game" in modern MMOs. Senior designer Dmitry Borodin walks you through a six-minute clip that traces the journey from traditional MMO combat to the "action-oriented combat of Skyforge today." Further details on the title's combo system as well as Skyforge's healing mechanics are in the video past the break as well as the textual diary on the game's website. [Thanks Toastngravy!]
Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity to launch on March 26
Obsidian RPG Pillars of Eternity will launch on March 26, the developer announced on its Kickstarter page. The game entered a backers-only beta phase in August, available in early access form to those that pledged at least $110 to its development. Pillars of Eternity is currently available for pre-purchase on Steam for PC, Mac and Linux, starting at $45. The game earned $3.9 million on the crowdfunding service in October 2012, back when it was known as "Project Eternity." It was originally given a spring 2014 launch window, prior to its name change in December 2013. Pillars of Eternity received two more delays, the first in February 2014, when project lead Josh Sawyer said "virtually nothing good comes from [Obsidian] releasing a date before we're very confident in it." Paradox Interactive agreed to handle the marketing and distribution of the game one month later. Finally, the developer pushed Pillars of Eternity back to early 2015 this past October, noting that "since the very beginning of this project we promised our fans and ourselves that we would release this game only when we knew it would be absolutely ready for the best experience possible." [Image: Obsidian Entertainment]
Skyforge demos the Paladin and the Cryomancer in a solo dungeon
The latest video from Skyforge isn't a trailer. It's all gameplay footage, and it's all about showing off how two of the classes function in combat and what players can expect from the game's solo dungeons. Development director Eric Demilt and class designer Aidan Karabaich take two of the game's starting classes, the Paladin and the Cryomancer, through the Lanber Catacombs while narrating how the combat systems and ability mechanics work. The Paladin, as you'd likely expect, is as tanky as you'd like and features a variety of sword swipes, holy bolts of damage, and drawing in enemies for large attacks. The Cryomancer, meanwhile, focuses on control, creating decoys, and blasting groups down after they're frozen in place. The video also shows off solo mechanics like environmental puzzles and solo bosses. If you've got a chunk of time to sit down and watch it (it's 14 minutes long), check the whole thing out just past the break.
Skyforge offers two contests for those who seek beta keys
Is the only thing you want for Christmas a nice shiny Skyforge beta key? If so... wow, you are aiming really low when it comes to gifts this year. We usually at least would ask for a game, not test access to a game. Besides, you could get one completely for free by taking part in one of two contests. The first is a straightforward raffle-style giveaway on Facebook: Just "like" the game's page and submit your account email, and 500 lucky entrants will get a beta key. But for those who want a key and prefer not to leave it up to chance, there's a forum thread asking players to name the critter they see in the header above. The five best entries will receive a beta key, followed by a vote-off of all the suggested names. So there's a chance at getting in just based on your creativity at naming things, which might be more your style. The name contest will run until December 22nd, while the Facebook entries are accepted until January 15th. [Thanks to Gabriel for the tip!]
Get a 3-D virtual preview of Skyforge's Naori Island
If a picture is valued at a thousand words, how much is an interactive panorama worth? That's a question that you might just have to answer yourself when you check out this jaw-dropping gorgeous tableau of Naori Island from Skyforge. Naori Island is a tropical resort that got caught up in the war, leaving it scarred yet still beautiful. You can check out the interactive 3-D screenshot of the island on the game's official website, which allows you to scope out the key landmarks and warm visuals all around you.
The myth of Skyforge's Celestial Fortress
Guess what, story fans? Skyforge has lore! Today's dev post explains the myth behind the Celestial Fortress, an epic construction project floating in the sky meant to safeguard the planet Aelion from its own inward-spiraling moon. "While historians still argue about its true origin and meaning," intones the narrator, "only one historical fact remains clear: the Celestial Fortress which the symbol represents prevented the destruction of Aelion." Well, that and the Roche limit, but this is sci-fantasy lore, not astronomy. Carry on, storytellers! We've included the new concept art of the Celestial Fortress below. Don't forget that Skyforge's browser minigame competition to win a beta key and other prizes is still ongoing for the next several weeks.
Secure a Skyforge beta key through a gems minigame
Wanna win a beta key for Skyforge, the upcoming sci-fantasy MMORPG from My.com/Allods Team? I hope you like minigames, then, because Skyforge is going to make you play a minigame to earn that video game beta key. From today to December 23rd, players can log into the game's website to play a daily round of the minigame, called Aelion's Treasure. There's more at stake than just keys, though: In the mini-game, players have seven attempts daily to find as many blue gems as possible on a board of 21 gems. To win a closed beta key one should collect 5 blue gems. Along the way they'll find several surprises, and a special leaderboard will keep track of players' progress. The top 20 players on the leaderboard each week will also receive an invitation to Skyforge closed beta. Additionally, the player who places in first in the leaderboard rankings each week will receive a Sound Blaster EVO ZXR Headset. Other prizes include an exclusive Skyforge Souvenir Gift Set, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 graphics card. Hey, at least it's novel, right? The game's first technical beta ran earlier in November. We don't yet know exactly when the beta will begin, though given the duration of this promotion, we can hazard a guess.
Skyforge details the Berserker's rage mechanic
A new Allods Team/My.com dev post today reveals yet another class for upcoming sci-fantasy MMORPG Skyforge: the Berserker. Wanna rush into battle, smash enemies in the teeth with a giant chainsword, dish out massive AoE damage, and annoy opponents with AoE crowd control? Of course you do. But there's a catch: This classic RPG archetype comes with a rage mechanic. The Berserker's powerful attacks consume Rage. Outside of battle, they only have half their maximum level available but once engaged in a fight, damage inflicted upon or by the Berserker will cause their Rage to build and rapidly reach its limit. Only then will the Berserker be able to use their most effective abilities - inflicting massive damage on all who would oppose them Skyforge concluded its first tech beta period last week. Check out the Berserker trailer after the cut.
Pillars of Eternity pre-orders open with 10 percent discount
It won't arrive until early 2015, but those still interested in Obsidian's crowdfunded roleplaying epic Pillars of Eternity can now pre-order the game from a number of online retailers. A visit to the game's website reveals two versions of Pillars of Eternity currently on offer: the $45 Hero Edition and the $60 Champion Edition. The former includes the game along with two "mystery items," while the latter features everything found in the Hero Edition as well as a digital almanac, map and soundtrack, ringtones, wallpapers and a "making of" documentary. As extra incentive, Paradox is currently offering a 10 percent discount on Pillars of Eternity for anyone who pre-orders either version of the game before November 24. If you're still on the fence about Pillars of Eternity, Paradox and Obsidian hope to push you over the edge with an upcoming Twitch stream hosted by project director Josh Sawyer where the developers plan to "reveal a wide array of never-before-seen game content." The stream starts on November 13 at 4PM ET, and you can catch the entire thing on the Paradox Interactive Twitch channel. [Image: Paradox Interactive]
Skyforge's first technical beta weekend begins November 13th
The conglomerate of companies building Skyforge -- Allods Team, Obsidian Entertainment, and My.com -- have announced that the MMORPG's first technical beta weekend will kick off on Thursday, November 13th. What's a technical beta? The technical beta weekend is a "technical test" in that the purpose of the beta will be to test Skyforge's core systems such as server infrastructure, client distribution system, login services and more. Therefore, we are only inviting a relatively small number of players to participate in this phase of testing to ensure that our core systems are operational, fully functional and able to withstand the stress of many players all logging into the game simultaneously. The developers are also hoping to provoke feedback about core gameplay systems such as classes, quests, combat, and character progression. This weekend's beta winds down on November 16th, but more tests with more invitees are planned.
Skyforge's adepts do your dirty work, bear gifts
There's a new Skyforge blog post on the game's official site. It's all about adepts, which in case you've forgotten are the loyal followers of your avatar who further your personal power and assist you on the road to godhood. Adepts distinguish themselves from your regular followers by way of a profession: Engineer, Templar, Sorcerer, Mystic, Preacher, Healer, Envoy, or Agent. Some adepts are better suited for particular missions (send a Healer on an epidemic curing mission, for example), and adepts who successfully complete missions will bring you gifts and additional followers for your trouble. Adepts also help you gain reputation within the game's provinces, so it's in your best interest to develop their power as efficiently as possible. How do you do that? Well, you can start by reading the dev diary which we've linked below.
Pillars of Eternity delayed to 2015
Pillars of Eternity has been delayed, but not into eternity – it's now due out in early 2015, rather than late 2014. Obsidian Entertainment announced the delay on publisher Paradox Interactive's forums. "Since the very beginning of this project we promised our fans and ourselves that we would release this game only when we knew it would be absolutely ready for the best experience possible," Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart said. "We're very close to that point, but not quite there yet. The feedback we have received through our playtest process has been invaluable to us. We are coming into the home stretch but are pushing the release out just a bit to make sure we honor that promise we made originally. Thanks for your patience and support, it will be worth the wait." Pillars of Eternity was Kickstarted in 2012, raising just shy of $4 million. In its post today, Obsidian said it recognizes that fans and financial backers of Pillars of Eternity are eager to play the complete game, but the extra time will allow developers to address feedback they've received from the beta. Pillars of Eternity was delayed once before, in February this year. We had a chance to play the game in its early form in August, and found it to be splendidly unsimplified. [Image: Paradox]
