Obsidian's Next-gen Title "Already Looking Great", South Park Still on Track for 2013
Obsidian's Next-gen Title "Already Looking Great", South Park Still on Track for 2013
Company News - posted by Crooked Bee on Fri 3 May 2013, 13:55:52
Tags: Feargus Urquhart; Obsidian Entertainment; South Park: The Stick of TruthThere have been some reports lately about Obsidian's new, yet unannounced next-gen title currently in the works, as well as about South Park: The Stick of Truth, recently bought by Ubisoft at the THQ action, still being on track for a 2013 release. Eurogamer has a nice summary:
The article then goes on to speculate about a KOTOR 3, an Alpha Protocol 2, a Wheel of Time RPG, or an original IP (which wouldn't be fantasy because there's already Project Eternity and which wouldn't be modern-day because there's already Alpha Protocol, according to the article).
There's definitely something big in the works at Obsidian beyond South Park and Project Eternity, and "it is already looking great", studio CEO Feargus Urquhart told me in an email overnight.
It's not surprising, really, that a studio numbering "around 100" people (115 if you count them all on LinkedIn) should be making something else. Only 15 people make Project Eternity and that team won't get too much bigger, and South Park: The Stick of Truth should be pretty much finished.
Before Ubisoft bought South Park from THQ, the game had a March 2013 release date. It slipped off the radar during the acquisition, which I suppose it would while Ubisoft took stock, and this morning the official line as supplied to me by a spokesperson was: "The game is in development and is scheduled for calendar year 2013."
According to Obsidian's job vacancies (noticed yesterday by OXM), that 'something big' in development is a "unique next-generation game" or an "unannounced next-gen console title", depending on which advert you read. But the revelation of Obsidian working on next-gen console games isn't particularly surprising either - I expect most developers of its kind now are.
The recent job adverts weren't particularly revealing, although one mentioned "role-playing" and "action" in the same sentence. But, again, the idea of a next-gen console RPG containing action bits is about as likely to raise an eyebrow as I am wearing a dress. [...]
What is interesting, though, is the question of whether Obsidian's working on new IP or not - but it's a question Feargus Urquhart dodged when I asked it.
"Unfortunately, we can't really talk about what we are working on, but it is already looking great," was what he wrote.
"As for the number of people at the studio, it's safe to say we are around 100. As for the split of people, we do have around 15 people working on Project Eternity and that will go up by a few in the few months.
"As for the other projects, it's a bit more complicated to explain exactly how many people we have on one project versus another."
What could Obsidian be up to, then?
It's not surprising, really, that a studio numbering "around 100" people (115 if you count them all on LinkedIn) should be making something else. Only 15 people make Project Eternity and that team won't get too much bigger, and South Park: The Stick of Truth should be pretty much finished.
Before Ubisoft bought South Park from THQ, the game had a March 2013 release date. It slipped off the radar during the acquisition, which I suppose it would while Ubisoft took stock, and this morning the official line as supplied to me by a spokesperson was: "The game is in development and is scheduled for calendar year 2013."
According to Obsidian's job vacancies (noticed yesterday by OXM), that 'something big' in development is a "unique next-generation game" or an "unannounced next-gen console title", depending on which advert you read. But the revelation of Obsidian working on next-gen console games isn't particularly surprising either - I expect most developers of its kind now are.
The recent job adverts weren't particularly revealing, although one mentioned "role-playing" and "action" in the same sentence. But, again, the idea of a next-gen console RPG containing action bits is about as likely to raise an eyebrow as I am wearing a dress. [...]
What is interesting, though, is the question of whether Obsidian's working on new IP or not - but it's a question Feargus Urquhart dodged when I asked it.
"Unfortunately, we can't really talk about what we are working on, but it is already looking great," was what he wrote.
"As for the number of people at the studio, it's safe to say we are around 100. As for the split of people, we do have around 15 people working on Project Eternity and that will go up by a few in the few months.
"As for the other projects, it's a bit more complicated to explain exactly how many people we have on one project versus another."
What could Obsidian be up to, then?
The article then goes on to speculate about a KOTOR 3, an Alpha Protocol 2, a Wheel of Time RPG, or an original IP (which wouldn't be fantasy because there's already Project Eternity and which wouldn't be modern-day because there's already Alpha Protocol, according to the article).
