It’s thanks to Xbox Game Pass that Pentiment, Obsidian’s new medieval detective RPG, ever stood a chance of being approved, Obsidian design director Josh Sawyer said. Sawyer made the comments on a recent episode of Waypoint Radio (first spotted on Resetera), where he also said Xbox’s subscription service helped change the game development landscape, making it possible for projects with lower anticipated returns on investment to have a chance at life.
“I never would have proposed making Pentiment without Game Pass,” Sawyer said. “I just don’t think it would have been possible. The old mentality of Publishers and Developers is generally focussed on larger investments with higher ROI (return on investment), and that’s not the point in this environment, in this ecosystem.”
Sawyer continued by saying Pentiment was only ever intended for a small, niche audience, and as long as that audience enjoyed it, then he believes it accomplished its goal.
Pentiment’s launch data seems to be proving Sawyer’s point as well, at least on Steam. While Pentiment received generally positive reviews from critics, the RPG’s highest player count peaked at just over 900.
However, in keeping with the philosophy that brought it to life, Pentiment also launched on Xbox Game Pass, where it may find a slightly bigger audience to appreciate the work that went into it.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
