The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered’s shadow-drop release on April 22 took the internet by storm, but indie developers who planned to launch their game on that same day were left reeling.
Jonas Antonsson, co-founder of indie publisher Raw Fury, took to social media to explain how “massive” shadow-drops from huge games like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered can cause everything else coming out at the same time to get “buried.”
“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 began.
“But from the perspective of indies and indie publishers, this is the problem with these sort of massive shadow drops. Everything more or least 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 then pointed to Red Soul Games’ Post Trauma, which Raw Fury published on April 22. It’s a puzzle horror game inspired by PS2 era classics where you “navigate environments, tackle threats, and meet other lost characters in the depths of the Gloom.”
“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 said.
Raw Fury had tweeted sarcastically on April 22: “Thank god Post Trauma was the only notable release of today and nothing else happened!”
From Bethesda and parent company Microsoft’s point of video, the Oblivion Remastered shadow-drop has been a big success. The game enjoyed an impressive start on Steam, and it’s dominated online discussion as players celebrate the return of funny character faces, old bugs, and memes.
Even other games Microsoft itself has pushed hard in marketing terms are running up against Oblivion Remastered. This week, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 publisher Kepler Interactive acknowledged the 'Barbenheimer' energy of releasing the same week as Oblivion Remastered. Both games launched straight into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
As for Raw Fury, when it set the Post Trauma release date it couldn’t have known Oblivion Remastered was waiting to steal the show. It may gone down as just one of those things.
We've got a comprehensive guide to everything you'll find in Oblivion Remastered, including an expansive Interactive Map, complete Walkthroughs for the Main Questline and every Guild Quest, How to Build the Perfect Character, Things to Do First, every PC Cheat Code, and much more.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
