Fallout veteran Josh Sawyer says his “niche” new game Pentiment would not exist without Xbox Game Pass.
The murder mystery from Obsidian Entertainment released earlier this week on Game Pass for PC, console and cloud. According to game director Josh Sawyer, “I never would have proposed making Pentiment without Game Pass. Like, I literally just wouldn’t have done it. I just don’t think it would have been possible.”
Speaking on the Waypoint Radio podcast (via PC Gamer) Sawyer explained: “In a traditional model, I just don’t think I would have even bothered because no one’s going to pick that up. Even if my boss were supportive of it, it would have been so incredibly difficult to get a publisher to pick it up. And that’s why this specific environment is the only way in which I really conceive of it being viable.”
Sawyer went on to say that that Xbox was “very supportive” of Pentiment throughout development, “because it is very niche, unusual and it has a high appeal to a very enthusiastic audience.”
In a four-star review, NME wrote: “Pentiment tells an elaborate tale of conspiracy and murder through a deeply human lens, and Obsidian’s choice to let players draw their own conclusions is one that pays off remarkably well.”
“With a deeply interesting plot that rewards diligence, Pentiment is a tale of pure brilliance. Using a depth and intricacy that defies the game’s simple aesthetic, Obsidian’s latest proves incredibly difficult to put down until its drama has played out – and when all’s said and done, you will want to do it all over again.”
Speaking to NME last year about the benefits of services like Game Pass, No More Robots‘ Mike Rose said: “There’s so much data out there to show that being on Game Pass now makes your game sell better everywhere.”
“Technology moves on. You’ve got to move with it. You can’t whine when it does,” he added.
In other news, Sonic The Hedgehog co-creator Yuji Naka was among three people arrested this week for alleged insider trading.
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