The unexpected shadow-drop release of *The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered* on April 22 sent shockwaves through the gaming community, but it left indie developers scrambling. Jonas Antonsson, co-founder of indie publisher Raw Fury, voiced his concerns on social media about how such monumental releases from major titles can overshadow smaller games.
"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 shared. However, he highlighted the challenges indie developers face: "But from the perspective of indies and indie publishers, this is the problem with these sort of massive shadow drops. Everything more or less 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 specifically mentioned Red Soul Games' *Post Trauma*, a puzzle horror game inspired by PS2 classics, which Raw Fury released on the same day. In *Post Trauma*, players "navigate environments, tackle threats, and meet other lost characters in the depths of the Gloom." Antonsson expressed empathy for his team and the developer: "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."
Raw Fury's sarcastic tweet on April 22 captured the sentiment: "Thank god Post Trauma was the only notable release of today and nothing else happened!"
From Bethesda and Microsoft's perspective, the shadow-drop of *Oblivion Remastered* has been a resounding success. The game has seen a strong start on Steam and has dominated online conversations, with players reveling in the return of iconic character faces, nostalgic bugs, and memes.
Even other titles that Microsoft heavily marketed, like *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*, have faced competition from *Oblivion Remastered*. Kepler Interactive, the publisher of *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*, acknowledged the 'Barbenheimer' effect of launching the same week as *Oblivion Remastered*, with both games entering Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Raw Fury couldn't have anticipated *Oblivion Remastered*'s shadow-drop when setting the release date for *Post Trauma*, marking it as an unfortunate coincidence.
For those diving into *Oblivion Remastered*, we offer a comprehensive guide that includes an expansive Interactive Map, complete Walkthroughs for the Main Questline and every Guild Quest, advice on How to Build the Perfect Character, Things to Do First, every PC Cheat Code, and much more.
