Studio Behind Avowed Wants To Stay In Business For 100 Years By Just Not Chasing Huge Profits

In an industry marked by constant change and uncertainty, Obsidian Entertainment is taking a bold approach with a long-term plan that focuses on sustainability rather than immediate success. Instead of banking on massive projects with enormous budgets, the studio is prioritizing stability and smart growth. Their ultimate goal? To celebrate their 100th anniversary. It might sound ambitious, but with a history of successful and well-received titles, Obsidian is proving that this strategy could work. Here’s everything you need to know about the bold strategy.

The Bold Strategy for Long-Term Success

Obsidian Entertainment is charting a course for the next 78 years with a strategy built around sustainability, stability, and realistic expectations. Rather than chasing huge profits from risky mega-projects, the studio plans to stay lean, maintain a close-knit team, and invest wisely in its games. By doing so, they hope to not only survive but thrive in an industry that often values rapid growth over longevity. 100 years ago seems like a long time ago, but people on the Titanic could have actually played with Nintendo toys, which at that time had already celebrated their 23rd anniversary.

In the midst of a gaming landscape that frequently sees studios face layoffs and closures, Obsidian’s approach is a breath of fresh air. The studio remains focused on making games that resonate with players, with an emphasis on quality and consistent releases. This deliberate pace is aimed at ensuring long-term success without the pressures of chasing the next big hit. Through this careful planning, Obsidian’s leaders believe they can make it to their 100th birthday, creating memorable games for generations to come.

Low-Cost Games: A Risky Bet

The strategy of making low-cost games instead of big ones, which would be a disaster if not a success, was also not invented by Obsidian Entertainment. Look at Blumhouse Productions, a film company that produces low-cost horror movies in the hopes that one of them becomes a commercial hit, like Get Out and Paranormal Activity.

Obsidian Entertainment also doesn’t want to expand, so employees don’t feel like a small cog in a big machine, and here lies one of the problems. They either make a lot of low-cost games, hoping one of them becomes a hit, but then the workers have to work on several games at once since they don’t expand, or they put everything into a few low-cost games.

But if you only invest, let’s say, 1 million and the game makes 2 million, sure, you’ve doubled your investment, but your fixed costs, like salaries, stay the same. So, you do need to make a lot of low-cost games, ending up with many heartless games where one person could only give less than 100% effort.

That, of course, means considering whether avoiding high-tier cost games strictly results in low-cost productions or if it also allows for games in the mid-budget segment. DontNod Entertainment has followed a strategy of developing relatively low-cost, unique games with dense storytelling, such as Life is Strange, and maintaining a regular release schedule. Unfortunately, this approach did not pay off due to frequent deadline shifts and multiple simultaneous projects. As a result, the company is currently in a severe crisis. A $100 investment in their stock six years ago would now be worth less than $9.

Time will tell, and let’s just hope we get high-effort, quality games for the next 78 years, instead of big-budget productions only meant to please stakeholders, which is not the way gaming should be, as we of course know. 'Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.' – Edward Abbey.

What do you think – will Obsidian’s bold strategy lead them to a century of success? Let us know in the comments!