Obsidian’s Most Successful 2025 Game Might Mean a Big Change for the Company

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The game industry is currently facing a shift. For years, the focus was on creating huge, expensive “AAA” games, believing they guaranteed big profits. But recent failures and studio shutdowns are causing companies to rethink this strategy and consider how to make games that truly connect with players, not just maximize earnings.

Obsidian Entertainment provides a fascinating case study in how game development can evolve. Despite years of working on major titles, their biggest success actually came from a smaller, unexpected game in 2025. As a result, the studio is now changing its approach, seemingly prioritizing the creation of more surprise hits over large-scale, AAA projects.

Grounded 2 Was The Biggest Success Obsidian Had In 2025

Obsidian Entertainment is rethinking how they make games after the strong launch of Grounded 2 and the more disappointing performances of Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2. 2025 was a busy year for the studio, which operates as part of Xbox Game Studios, with three major game releases. Avowed, a fantasy RPG, came out in February for Windows and Xbox Series X/S, and The Outer Worlds 2, a sci-fi story-driven RPG, launched in October for Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

While both games received decent reviews, they didn’t win many awards and, more importantly, didn’t sell as well as the company hoped. Although Avowed might see a sales increase with its release on PS5, and neither game was a complete failure, their financial performance was disappointing. Grounded 2, however, was a hit, attracting over 3 million players within the first two weeks of its early access launch in July 2025. Grounded 2 benefited from the popularity of the original game, something The Outer Worlds 2 also had going for it. The key difference seems to be the amount of money invested in each game.

Although The Outer Worlds 2 performed reasonably well, Grounded 2 quickly gained positive attention after its early alpha release. Obsidian Entertainment’s Feargus Urquhart has noted the difference in their success and explained that Obsidian’s leadership is re-evaluating how much time and money they invest in games. They’re considering whether the extensive development process is worth it, or if they should prioritize projects like Grounded 2 and the lessons those successes offer about what works in today’s gaming market.

Why Obsidian Might Be Moving Away From Long Development Cycles

The gaming industry is increasingly burdened by lengthy development times. Major games often take years to create and release, but sometimes don’t receive a positive response from players, resulting in significant financial losses. The difficulties surrounding the game Avowed are particularly disheartening because it was in development for almost seven years. The team even made major changes after the first two years to ensure it didn’t feel too similar to games like Destiny. Despite all this effort, the game’s lukewarm reception has been disappointing for those involved.

As a fan, I’ve been really impressed with how well Grounded 2 did! It just proves that sometimes, a cool idea made quickly and without a huge budget can really take off. It’s also great for Obsidian, because it helps balance out the money lost on games that didn’t quite hit the mark, and keeps them from being overshadowed within Xbox Game Studios. I know Obsidian has pushed for better profits from their developers, which can be tough, but having success with both smaller and bigger games gives them some breathing room. Still, hearing the studio head talk about ‘learning’ from recent failures makes me think they’re going to have to shake things up a bit going forward.

Obsidian Entertainment might be shifting its focus to smaller games like Grounded instead of large, long-term projects. The cancellation of Outer Worlds 3 hints at this change, with the company seemingly prioritizing more focused and streamlined games such as Grounded 2 and Pentiment. This could be a smart move for Obsidian, and building on the success of Grounded 2 could be crucial for their future.

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2026-02-07 23:12