The unexpected shadow-drop release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on April 22 sent shockwaves through the gaming community, but it left indie developers, who had planned their game launches for the same day, in a challenging position. Jonas Antonsson, co-founder of indie publisher Raw Fury, took to social media to voice his concerns about how such massive releases from big-name titles can overshadow smaller games.
"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 shared. However, he pointed out the downside for indie developers and publishers, stating, "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 highlighted the plight of Red Soul Games’ Post Trauma, a puzzle horror game inspired by PS2 era classics, which Raw Fury released on April 22. He expressed empathy for the development team, saying, "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."
Raw Fury tweeted sarcastically on April 22: "Thank god Post Trauma was the only notable release of today and nothing else happened!"
From the perspective of Bethesda and its parent company Microsoft, the shadow-drop of Oblivion Remastered has been a resounding success. The game has seen a strong start on Steam and has dominated online discussions, with players reveling in the return of iconic character faces, classic bugs, and beloved memes.
The impact of Oblivion Remastered extends beyond indie games. Even other titles heavily marketed by Microsoft, like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from publisher Kepler Interactive, are facing the 'Barbenheimer' effect of launching the same week. Both games have been made available on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Raw Fury had no way of anticipating the shadow-drop of Oblivion Remastered when setting the release date for Post Trauma. It may simply be chalked up to unfortunate timing.
For those diving into 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.
