Indie Publisher Boss Laments Team's Struggle Post-Oblivion Remastered Release

The surprise release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on April 22 sent shockwaves across the gaming community, but it cast a shadow over indie developers who had planned their game launches for the same day. Jonas Antonsson, co-founder of indie publisher Raw Fury, voiced his concerns on social media, highlighting the challenges indie games face when overshadowed by major titles.

"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 expressed. However, he pointed out the difficulties these "massive" shadow-drops create for smaller developers. "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 highlighted the plight of Post Trauma, a puzzle horror game developed by Red Soul Games and published by Raw Fury on the same day. Inspired by PS2-era classics, Post Trauma involves navigating environments, tackling threats, and meeting other lost characters in the depths of the Gloom. "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," Antonsson lamented.

Raw Fury's frustration was evident in their April 22 tweet, which read: "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 was a resounding success. The game saw a strong launch on Steam and has dominated online discussions, with players reminiscing about its quirky character faces, nostalgic bugs, and beloved memes.

The impact of Oblivion Remastered has even affected other games heavily marketed by Microsoft. This week, Kepler Interactive, the publisher of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, acknowledged the 'Barbenheimer' effect of launching the same week as Oblivion Remastered. Both games were directly added to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Raw Fury had no way of knowing that Oblivion Remastered would overshadow their release of Post Trauma. Such occurrences may simply be chalked up to the unpredictable nature of the gaming industry.

For those diving into Oblivion Remastered, we offer a comprehensive guide covering everything from an expansive Interactive Map to 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.