"Indie Publisher Boss Laments Team's Struggle After Oblivion Remastered Overshadows Their Release"

The unexpected shadow-drop release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on April 22 sent shockwaves through the gaming community, but it was a different story for indie developers who had planned their game launches for the same day. Jonas Antonsson, co-founder of indie publisher Raw Fury, expressed his concerns on social media, highlighting how such "massive" shadow-drops from big titles can overshadow smaller releases.

Antonsson, a long-time fan of Oblivion, expressed his personal excitement about the remaster's ability to introduce the game to a new generation of players. However, he pointed out the challenges this poses for indie developers and publishers. "But from the perspective of indies and indie publishers, this is the problem with these sort 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,” he stated.

He specifically mentioned Red Soul Games’ Post Trauma, a puzzle horror game published by Raw Fury on April 22, inspired by PS2 era classics. In this game, players navigate environments, tackle threats, and encounter other lost characters in the depths of the Gloom. Antonsson shared his empathy for the development team and the game's creator, who had invested years of passion into the project.

Raw Fury's sarcastic tweet on April 22, "Thank god Post Trauma was the only notable release of today and nothing else happened!" underscored their frustration.

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 debut on Steam and has dominated online conversations, with players reveling in the return of the game's iconic character faces, classic bugs, and beloved memes.

Even other games that Microsoft has heavily promoted have struggled to compete with Oblivion Remastered. 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 made available on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

For Raw Fury, setting the release date for Post Trauma without knowing about Oblivion Remastered's shadow-drop might just be chalked up to unfortunate timing.

For those eager to dive into Oblivion Remastered, we have a comprehensive guide that covers 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.