Rumor: Microsoft is about to buy Obsidian Entertainment

Microsoft is close to finalizing an agreement to acquire Obsidian Entertainment's independent RPG developer based on three anonymous sources that spoke to Kotaku. While these deals sometimes fall apart at the last minute, one source told Kotaku that it was simply "a question of when, no if." Another source said the agreement was "90% complete".

If this deal succeeds, it would be a huge change for Obsidian Entertainment, which has been independent for 15 years while developing beloved RPGs like Knights of the Old Republic 2, Fallout: New Vegas and the more recent Pillars of Eternity series. Obsidian fans will know that Pillars of Eternity, funded by Kickstarter in 2012, saved the company from a financial crisis that nearly bankrupted it. Obsidian has been able to repeat this success with Pillars of Eternity 2, making it the biggest crowdfunding success since 2015.

Despite the success of Obsidian 's recent games, being independent in this climate is hard to sell for a company of over a hundred employees. During the past year, 10 studios have ceased operations. It is therefore logical that Obsidian seeks financial security from Microsoft.

What is interesting is that Microsoft is the reason why Obsidian Entertainment nearly closed its doors at the beginning. The two were working together on an exclusive Xbox One called Stormlands that Microsoft had kept in 2012, forcing Obsidian to play on Kickstarter to raise funds for Pillars of Eternity. It was a long time ago, though, and Microsoft's Xbox division is now under new leadership.

This agreement also makes sense for Microsoft, which has experienced a wave of buying over the past year with the purchase of four studios, including Ninja Theory, developer Hellblade, and Playground, developer Forza Horizon 4. As reported by sources in Kotaku, Microsoft is looking to expand its audience on PC and what is more at home on PC than the range of role-playing Obsidian? What is not clear, however, is what this agreement would mean for the currently unidentified RPG project of observian published by Take-Two Interactive.

We contacted Microsoft, but a spokesperson told us that they were not commenting on rumors or speculation.