Microsoft Acquires Game Devs Obsidian and InXile to Bolster Xbox

Microsoft didn’t start out as a gaming company, but as a company with a lot of money, it can buy its way into whatever market it wants (except phones). Microsoft has been scooping up game development studios in recent years with some high-profile acquisitions like Minecraft and Rare. Now, Microsoft has added a few more game developers to its stables with InXile and Obsidian. You probably know Obsidian best as the developer behind Fallout: New Vegas.

Microsoft announced the acquisition in unusual fashion with a tweet from Xbox Director of Programming Larry Hyrb, better known as Major Nelson. Both developers are now part of the Microsoft Studios team and fully owned by Microsoft. However, they remain independently managed.

Microsoft’s purchase of Obsidian doesn’t come with the Fallout IP, obviously, but that’s not the only notable work from Obsidian. It also built Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II and South Park: The Stick of Truth. Clearly, there’s some real talent over there. InXile is less prominent in the gaming industry, but it’s been doing great work in its niche for a long time. The most popular games from InXile include Torment, Wasteland, and Bard’s Tale.

Obsidian has been hard at work on an untitled RPG from Fallout co-creators Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky. Obsidian partnered with Take-Two’s Private Division to develop the game, and it was unclear at first whether or not Microsoft would continue that arrangement. Private Division now says it will complete the game with Obsidian.

And now, a very special announcement from us here at Obsidian on becoming a part of the Microsoft family!https://t.co/bq5GGrM2UC

— Obsidian (@Obsidian) November 10, 2018

This isn’t the only recent expansion for Microsoft Studios. In June, the company announced the acquisition of Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, Compulsion, and Playground Games. These studios were all known for developing games on various platforms, but the newest pickups Obsidian and InXile are known as PC-first developers. Microsoft obviously wants people to play games on Xbox, and the focus on PC-centric developers could be intended to bring PC gamers over to the Xbox. Microsoft specifically cited RPG projects as a focus for both Obsidian and InXile.