The release ofThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remasteredwas a huge surprise for everyone, including indie development teams like Raw Fury, who are now feeling the aftereffects. The massive game drop brings back the classic RPG with a new and improved look, making the 2005 game accessible to modern gamers. The title was released by surprise without marketing ahead of time from Bethesda, making a huge splash among gamers.
While many were ecstatic to learn thatOblivion Remasteredwas being shadow released, the news also had some downsides.Jonas Antonsson, founder of the indie publishing studio Raw Fury, notes thatthe drop can crush smaller games unlucky enough to pick the same day to release,likePost Traumaby Red Soul Games. In an X post (spotted byIGN), Antonsson writes: “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.”
Surprise Publishing Drops Overshadow Smaller Game Releases
Release Dates Are Carefully Selected
Raw Fury has beenin the game publishing industry for over a decade, turning out indie titles in collaboration with small development teams. The publisher is behind the recent huge hitBlue Prince, as well as other excellent titles likeMoonstone Island, Cassette Beasts, Kathy Rain(my personal favorite), and many others.
All these years in development have given the company excellent experience in picking out release dates. These rely onlooking ahead at what else is happening in the games industryand planning around other major releases to prevent competition from higher-profile studios and games, and “attempt to maximize the chance of getting attention.”
“This,” says Antonsson, “is the problem with these sorts of massive shadow drops.” When a huge game likeOblivion Remasteredreleases,it leaves little room for smaller games to shine.According to Antonsson, as much as he lovesOblivionand is happy to see the remaster, “Everything more or less gets buried.” The result is great for Bethesda and fans ofOblivion, but not as good for smaller game companies who are trying to get noticed.
Post Trauma And Other Indies Didn’t Get As Much Attention Because Of Oblivion
The Big Release News Trumped All Other News For That Day
Raw Fury had the misfortune of choosing April 22 as a release date forPost Trauma, a PS2-era-inspired horror debut title from Red Soul Games. The release announcement for the gamefound the humor in the situation, announcing the game on theRaw FuryX account with this tongue-in-cheek post: “Thank god Post Trauma was the only notable release of today and nothing else happened!”
Sadly, news thatOblivion Remasteredwas bothannounced and released on the same dayled to the indie title making much less of a splash. The situation is still a tough one for small developers, who work hard and plan only to be prevented from seeing as much publicity as they’d normally get by bigger studios. Luckily, there’s still an audience for both indie and AAA studios, so games likeThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion RemasteredandPost Traumawill appeal to different audiences, hopefully helping the indie find its niche.
