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The release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered was a huge surprise for everyone, including indie development teams like Raw Fury, who are now feeling the aftereffects. The massive game drop brings back the classic RPG with a new and improved look, making the 2005 game accessible to modern gamers. The title was released by surprise without marketing ahead of time from Bethesda, making a huge splash among gamers.
While many were ecstatic to learn that Oblivion Remastered was being shadow released, the news also had some downsides. Jonas Antonsson, founder of the indie publishing studio Raw Fury, notes that the drop can crush smaller games unlucky enough to pick the same day to release, like Post Trauma by Red Soul Games. In an X post (spotted by IGN), Antonsson writes: “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.“
Surprise Publishing Drops Overshadow Smaller Game Releases
Release Dates Are Carefully Selected
Raw Fury has been in the game publishing industry for over a decade, turning out indie titles in collaboration with small development teams. The publisher is behind the recent huge hit Blue Prince, as well as other excellent titles like Moonstone Island, Cassette Beasts, Kathy Rain (my personal favorite), and many others.
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A new update has been pushed to the PC Game Pass version of Oblivion Remastered, and it has apparently removed some of the game’s graphics settings.
All these years in development have given the company excellent experience in picking out release dates. These rely on looking ahead at what else is happening in the games industry and planning around other major releases to prevent competition from higher-profile studios and games, and “try to maximize the chance of getting attention.”
“This,” says Antonsson, “is the problem with these sorts of massive shadow drops.” When a huge game like Oblivion Remastered releases, it leaves little room for smaller games to shine. According to Antonsson, as much as he loves Oblivion and is happy to see the remaster, “Everything more or less gets buried.” The result is great for Bethesda and fans of Oblivion, but not as good for smaller game companies who are trying to get noticed.
Post Trauma And Other Indies Didn’t Get As Much Attention Because Of Oblivion
The Big Release News Trumped All Other News For That Day
Raw Fury had the misfortune of choosing April 22 as a release date for Post Trauma, a PS2-era-inspired horror debut title from Red Soul Games. The release announcement for the game found the humor in the situation, announcing the game on the Raw Fury X account with this tongue-in-cheek post: “Thank god Post Trauma was the only notable release of today and nothing else happened!”
Sadly, news that Oblivion Remastered was both announced and released on the same day led to the indie title making much less of a splash. The situation is still a tough one for small developers, who work hard and plan only to be prevented from seeing as much publicity as they’d normally get by bigger studios. Luckily, there’s still an audience for both indie and AAA studios, so games like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and Post Trauma will appeal to different audiences, hopefully helping the indie find its niche.
Source: Jonas Antonsson/X, IGN, Raw Fury/X
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