Obsidian Entertainment
Encyclopedia
Obsidian Entertainment is an American
video game developer
founded in 2003 after the disestablishment of Interplay Productions' Black Isle Studios
, for PC
and console
systems. Obsidian continues to operate under management by its founding officers: Feargus Urquhart
(CEO), Chris Parker
(COO
), Darren Monahan
(CTO
), Chris Avellone
(CCO
) and Chris Jones
(CTO
).
announced that they would co-develop a role-playing game based on a new franchise. It was revealed to be Alpha Protocol
, an RPG set in a modern-day spy adventure setting, which was released on June 1, 2010.
On December 13, 2006, SEGA officially announced that Obsidian Entertainment had been signed to develop a role-playing game based on the Aliens
film franchise. However, it has since been canceled. Another game called Seven Dwarves (working title) was also canceled.
On April 20, 2009, Bethesda Softworks
announced that a new game in the Fallout series, Fallout: New Vegas
would be developed by Obsidian. It was released in October 2010.
On February 11, 2010, Red Eagle Games and Obsidian announced that they would co-develop game(s) based on the Wheel of Time
series of fantasy novels by author Robert Jordan
.
At E3 2010
it was announced that Obsidian would be developing Dungeon Siege 3
for Square Enix
. The game was released in 2011.
On September 1, 2011, Square Enix announced that the Treasures of the Sun DLC
was forthcoming, with an anticipated release in October 2011.
Obsidian Entertainment revealed that they had been working on a canceled project called Alien RPG. The game was canceled for unknown reasons. They also revealed that they are pitching an unknown original IP to several publishers and are getting very good results.
On December 1, 2011, GameInformer announced South Park: The Game was being developed by Obsidian and would be the cover story for the January 2012 issue.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
video game developer
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
founded in 2003 after the disestablishment of Interplay Productions' Black Isle Studios
Black Isle Studios
Black Isle Studios was a division of the computer and video game developer and publisher Interplay Entertainment. Black Isle Studios was a division that developed computer role-playing games, and also published several games from other developers. It was based in Orange County, California, USA. The...
, for PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
and console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
systems. Obsidian continues to operate under management by its founding officers: Feargus Urquhart
Feargus Urquhart
Feargus Urquhart is a Scottish computer game developer and CEO of Obsidian Entertainment.-Career:Urquhart is best known for his work at Interplay Entertainment, particularly as leader of Black Isle Studios...
(CEO), Chris Parker
Chris Parker (Obsidian Entertainment)
Chris Parker is the Chief Development Officer and Senior Producer for Obsidian Entertainment. Parker entered the electronic entertainment industry in 1995 and has directly managed all phases of the internal and external development of over twenty published products including the over two-million...
(COO
COO
COO may refer to:*Country of origin*Certificate of origin, used in international trade*Chief operating officer or chief operations officer, high ranking corporate official*Cell of origin *Carboxylate, type of anion...
), Darren Monahan
Darren Monahan
Darren Monahan is Chief Information Officer and Producer of Obsidian Entertainment.-Career:He has been working in the game industry for 10 years, having worked for Interplay Entertainment in various capacities, including a senior producer for Black Isle Studios, manager of Quality Assurance, and a...
(CTO
CTO
CTO may refer to:* Cancelled-to-order, a postage-stamp cancelled by the postal administration before sale to stamp-collectors* Cape Air Transport, Australia * Caribbean Tourism Organisation* Central Telegraph Office, London UK...
), Chris Avellone
Chris Avellone
Chris Avellone is an American video game designer and comic book writer who worked for Interplay and currently works in Obsidian Entertainment.-Early life and education:...
(CCO
CCO
CCO may refer to:Organizational positions:*Chief communications officer, the executive responsible for communications, public relations and/or public affairs*Chief commercial officer, the executive responsible for commercial strategy and development...
) and Chris Jones
Chris Jones (Obsidian Entertainment)
Chris Jones is a video game designer and co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Obsidian Entertainment.Jones began his programming career in the game industry on a number of Interplay's Star Trek titles and assisted in the creation and maintenance of a multi-OS windowing and resource system...
(CTO
CTO
CTO may refer to:* Cancelled-to-order, a postage-stamp cancelled by the postal administration before sale to stamp-collectors* Cape Air Transport, Australia * Caribbean Tourism Organisation* Central Telegraph Office, London UK...
).
Games history
On March 23, 2006, Obsidian and SEGASega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
announced that they would co-develop a role-playing game based on a new franchise. It was revealed to be Alpha Protocol
Alpha Protocol
Alpha Protocol is a third-person espionage role-playing video game, developed by Obsidian Entertainment, their first title for an original IP, and published by Sega. The game revolves around the adventures of field agent Michael Thorton...
, an RPG set in a modern-day spy adventure setting, which was released on June 1, 2010.
On December 13, 2006, SEGA officially announced that Obsidian Entertainment had been signed to develop a role-playing game based on the Aliens
Alien (film series)
The Alien film series is a science fiction horror film franchise, focusing on Lieutenant Ellen Ripley and her battle with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as "the Alien"...
film franchise. However, it has since been canceled. Another game called Seven Dwarves (working title) was also canceled.
On April 20, 2009, Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game company. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland...
announced that a new game in the Fallout series, Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas is a first person action role-playing video game in the Fallout series developed by Obsidian Entertainment, and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is based in a post-apocalyptic environment in and around Las Vegas, Nevada...
would be developed by Obsidian. It was released in October 2010.
On February 11, 2010, Red Eagle Games and Obsidian announced that they would co-develop game(s) based on the Wheel of Time
Wheel of time
The Wheel of time or wheel of history is a concept found in several religious traditions and philosophies, notably religions of Indian origin such as Hinduism and Buddhism, which regard time as cyclical and consisting of repeating ages...
series of fantasy novels by author Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr. , under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.-Biography:Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina...
.
At E3 2010
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010, commonly known as E3 2010, was the 16th Electronic Entertainment Expo held. The event took place on June 14–17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. E3 is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment Software...
it was announced that Obsidian would be developing Dungeon Siege 3
Dungeon Siege III
Dungeon Siege III is an action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. Chris Taylor, the original creator of Dungeon Siege, served as an advisor during the development of the game...
for Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
. The game was released in 2011.
On September 1, 2011, Square Enix announced that the Treasures of the Sun DLC
DLC
DLC may refer to:* Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport, which has the IATA code DLC, a military and public airport in Ganjingzi District, Dalian, China* Dead Letter Circus, an alternative rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...
was forthcoming, with an anticipated release in October 2011.
Obsidian Entertainment revealed that they had been working on a canceled project called Alien RPG. The game was canceled for unknown reasons. They also revealed that they are pitching an unknown original IP to several publishers and are getting very good results.
On December 1, 2011, GameInformer announced South Park: The Game was being developed by Obsidian and would be the cover story for the January 2012 issue.
Games developed
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith LordsStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith LordsStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is a role playing video game released for the Xbox and Microsoft Windows. The Xbox version of this sequel to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was released on December 6, 2004, while the Windows version was released on February 8, 2005...
(20042004 in video gaming-Events:*January 20 — Wireds Vaporware Awards gives its first "Lifetime Achievement Award" to recurring winner Duke Nukem Forever.*March 4 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Peter Molyneux into the AIAS Hall of Fame*March 22-26 — Game...
) (XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, PCMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
) - Neverwinter Nights 2Neverwinter Nights 2Neverwinter Nights 2 is a computer role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Atari. It is the sequel to BioWare's Neverwinter Nights, based on the Dungeons & Dragons pencil and paper fantasy role-playing game...
(20062006 in video gaming-Events:* January 26, 2006 -- Nintendo announces its newly redesigned handheld, the Nintendo DS Lite. The new model is lighter, smaller, has configurable brightness and features an improved user interface.* January 26, 2006 -- Konami Corp...
) (PC, Mac OS XMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
) - Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the BetrayerNeverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the BetrayerNeverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer is a computer role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Atari. It is an expansion pack for Neverwinter Nights 2. It was released in Autumn 2007 for the PC in North America, Europe, and Australia...
(20072007 in video gaming-Events:*March 14: Microsoft announces Games for Windows - Live, a version of Xbox Live for the Windows platform. The service launched on May 8.*March 27: Microsoft announces the new "Xbox 360 Elite" stock-keeping unit . The revision comes with a bigger hard drive and the ability to output HDMI...
) (PC) - Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of ZehirNeverwinter Nights 2: Storm of ZehirNeverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir is an expansion pack for the computer role-playing game Neverwinter Nights 2, developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Atari. It was released in late 2008 in North America, Europe, and Australia...
(20082008 in video gamingNotable events of 2008 in video gaming. See also history of video games. The release dates listed in this article are the games' original release dates.-Events:...
) (PC) - Alpha ProtocolAlpha ProtocolAlpha Protocol is a third-person espionage role-playing video game, developed by Obsidian Entertainment, their first title for an original IP, and published by Sega. The game revolves around the adventures of field agent Michael Thorton...
(20102010 in video gamingThe year 2010 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games, including several new titles.-Events:-Game releases:List of games scheduled for release in 2010 in North America....
) (PC, Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, PlayStation 3PlayStation 3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
) - Fallout: New VegasFallout: New VegasFallout: New Vegas is a first person action role-playing video game in the Fallout series developed by Obsidian Entertainment, and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is based in a post-apocalyptic environment in and around Las Vegas, Nevada...
(2010) (Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) - Dungeon Siege IIIDungeon Siege IIIDungeon Siege III is an action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. Chris Taylor, the original creator of Dungeon Siege, served as an advisor during the development of the game...
(2011) (Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) - Wheel of Time (in development) (Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
- South Park: The Game (20122012 in video gamingThe year 2012 will see many original video games, as well as the release of numerous sequels to critically acclaimed games. New video game platforms are also set to be released this year, including Sony newest handheld game console, the PlayStation Vita, and Nintendo's newest home console, the Wii...
) (Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)