The surprise 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 to launch their games on the same day in a challenging position. Jonas Antonsson, co-founder of indie publisher Raw Fury, shared his thoughts on social media about how "massive" shadow-drops from blockbuster games like Oblivion Remastered can overshadow other releases.
"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 stated. However, he highlighted the difficulties faced by indie developers and publishers due to such unexpected releases. "But from the perspective of indies and indie publishers, this is the problem with these sorts 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 Post Trauma, a puzzle horror game by Red Soul Games and published by Raw Fury, which launched on the same day. Inspired by PS2-era classics, Post Trauma involves navigating environments, facing threats, and encountering other lost characters in the depths of the Gloom. Antonsson expressed his support for the game but also his empathy for the development team: "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's sarcastic tweet on April 22 reflected their frustration: "Thank god Post Trauma was the only notable release of today and nothing else happened!"
From Bethesda and its parent company Microsoft's perspective, the shadow-drop of Oblivion Remastered has been a resounding success. The game saw a strong debut on Steam and has dominated online conversations, with players reminiscing about the game's iconic character faces, classic bugs, and memes.
The impact of Oblivion Remastered has been felt even by other titles heavily marketed by Microsoft. This week, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 publisher Kepler Interactive acknowledged the 'Barbenheimer' phenomenon of launching the same week as Oblivion Remastered, with both games being added directly to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
For Raw Fury, the release date of Post Trauma was set without knowledge of Oblivion Remastered's impending release, which may now be remembered as an unfortunate coincidence.
For those diving into Oblivion Remastered, we have a comprehensive guide covering everything from 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.
