The surprise release, or shadow-drop, of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on April 22 sent shockwaves through the gaming community. However, this unexpected launch posed significant challenges for indie developers who had planned their own game releases for the same day. Jonas Antonsson, co-founder of indie publisher Raw Fury, voiced his concerns on social media, highlighting the difficulties faced by smaller studios when major titles like Oblivion Remastered overshadow their releases.
"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 stated. However, he went on to explain the predicament faced by indie 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 case of Post Trauma, a puzzle horror game developed by Red Soul Games and published by Raw Fury on April 22. Inspired by PS2 era classics, Post Trauma places players in the Gloom, where they must navigate environments, confront threats, and encounter other lost characters. "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 expressed.
Raw Fury took to Twitter on the same day with a sarcastic remark: "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 has been a resounding success. The game has seen a strong start on Steam and has dominated online conversations, with players reminiscing about iconic character faces, nostalgic bugs, and beloved memes.
Even other games heavily promoted by Microsoft have felt the impact of 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 debuted directly on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
For Raw Fury, the decision to release Post Trauma on April 22 was made without knowledge of the impending Oblivion Remastered launch. The overshadowing of their game may simply be chalked up to unfortunate timing.
For those eager to dive into Oblivion Remastered, we offer a comprehensive guide that includes 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.
