The shadow-drop release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on April 22 sent waves through the gaming community, but it posed significant challenges for indie developers who had scheduled their game launches for the same day. Jonas Antonsson, co-founder of indie publisher Raw Fury, shared his perspective on social media, highlighting the difficulties faced by smaller studios when big titles like Oblivion Remastered suddenly drop.
"I loved (when younger) and still absolutely love Oblivion and I’m personally excited to see it get a breath of new life and being introduced to a whole new generation of players," Antonsson expressed. However, he also pointed out the harsh reality for indie developers: "But from the perspective of indies and indie publishers, this is the problem with these sort of massive shadow drops. Everything more or less gets buried. We don’t have the cash nor muscle to throw around, so everything is carefully planned. Including when to release, based on other releases etc - to try to maximize the chances of getting attention."
Antonsson specifically mentioned Red Soul Games' Post Trauma, a puzzle horror game published by Raw Fury on April 22, inspired by PS2-era classics. In Post Trauma, players navigate environments, tackle threats, and encounter other lost characters in the depths of the Gloom. "Love the game that dropped but feel the pain for our team and especially the developer we’ve worked with for years - who has poured his heart and soul into his game," Antonsson lamented.
Raw Fury's tweet on April 22 encapsulated their frustration: "Thank god Post Trauma was the only notable release of today and nothing else happened!"
From Bethesda and parent company Microsoft's perspective, the Oblivion Remastered shadow-drop has been a resounding success. The game has seen a strong launch on Steam and has dominated online conversations, with players reveling in the return of iconic character faces, nostalgic bugs, and beloved memes.
Even other games that Microsoft has heavily marketed are facing stiff competition from Oblivion Remastered. This week, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's publisher Kepler Interactive acknowledged the 'Barbenheimer' effect of launching the same week as Oblivion Remastered. Both games were added directly to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
For Raw Fury, the timing of Post Trauma's release was unfortunate, as they could not have anticipated Oblivion Remastered's overshadowing debut. It's an event that may be chalked up to unfortunate timing.
For those interested in exploring The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, we offer a comprehensive guide that includes 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.
