Microsoft acquires Obsidian Entertainment and inXile Entertainment

Reports were abounding just over a month ago that Microsoft had its eyes set on acquiring Obsidian Entertainment, makers of the Pillars of Eternity series and Fallout: New Vegas. As we expected, the juggernaut company decided to wait until today's XO18 fan event being held in Mexico City, Mexico to make the announcement official.

But it goes a little bit further than we expected. Not only has Microsoft acquired Obsidian Entertainment, but they have also picked up inXile Entertainment, the folks behind Torment: Tides of Numenera, the Wasteland franchise, and the recently-released The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep. Put within context, Microsoft is striving to expand its internal development resources in order to improve the number of games they're releasing on their platforms, especially its popular Game Pass subscription service.

Those concerned about whether either studio's operations were change shouldn't need to worry - Microsoft is promising that both Obsidian and inXile will continue to function autonomously and preserve their individual cultures. Via Microsoft Studios corporate vice president Matt Booty:

The 13 distinct and diverse game development teams that form Microsoft Studios are focused on implementing new Microsoft technologies, delivering content for new platforms and services like Xbox Game Pass, and creating exclusive games that turn players into loyal Xbox fans. We are committed to expanding the Microsoft Studios franchises players already love, and investing in new, exclusive content for every type of gamer.

As part of the announcement, Obsidian released this video message:

inXile posted a video of their own:

More recently, we discovered that it seems inXile Entertainment may be working on a follow-up to Baldur's Gate. We shall see whether this news may be part of the reason the company has the funding (and legal team backing) to do so.