The studio Obsidian is no longer working on the F2P tank game Armored Warfare. The work is moving to Russia. An insider report is causing a stir behind the scenes.
Armored Warfare is a F2P action MMO, similar to World of Tanks. The studio Obsidian Entertainment was long known as a contractor for other studios, implementing versions of well-known franchises, and developing games like Fallout: New Vegas. Recently, they have had their own hits with Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny.
Obsidian developed Armored Warfare in collaboration with the Russian studio and publisher my.com as a contract job. However, they are now withdrawing from the game, as the work is shifting completely to Moscow. This had already been anticipated in the past. Statements indicate that Obsidian now has other commitments. My.com assures that they can fully take over support and development. Everything sounds quite peaceful.
Insider report causes trouble, attacks mail.ru
But things behind the scenes were not running smoothly. A supposed insider report has appeared on reddit. Someone writes, claiming he was a design consultant. He reports problems in the development between Obsidian and Mail.ru, the Russian corporation behind my.com. There were differing visions for Armored Warfare.
Mail.ru only wanted a “World of Tanks” clone
He accuses mail.ru of wanting to design only a “World of Tanks” clone for the Russian market to quickly make money. Mail.ru cannot see beyond the Russian market.
Obsidian, on the other hand, wanted to develop a completely original game, according to the insider. However, they were regularly held back by the Russians. After the technical alpha, Mail.Ru heard the criticism “You are just making a clone” and then gave Obsidian more leeway to implement their visions.
The conflict brewed beneath the surface. The impression is created that Obsidian wanted to make a big hit, while Mail.Ru only aimed for a piece of the “World of Tanks” pie, which Wargaming is currently almost monopolizing.
Mail.Ru was satisfied with how much the Russian market liked their version of Armored Warfare, says the insider. The Western market, which Obsidian targeted, was of no concern to them. As an example, the rudimentary base building can be cited. For Obsidian, it was only a first step, just as it was implemented in the game. In Russia, they were totally satisfied with it and decided: This is now the final version.
Allegedly a PS4 and Xbox One version of Armored Warfare in development
Further reports claim: MailRu ultimately terminated the contract with Obsidian and took over the development. Obsidian did not want to stop; they would have liked to continue developing.
A lot of people in Russia had already been working on the “Xbox One” and PS4 version of Armored Warfare. So they could just do everything at once. Obsidian-friendly employees at my.com lost their jobs and were replaced by Mail.ru personnel.
This information is unconfirmed. We will probably never get confirmation. But if a PS4 or Xbox One port of Armored Warfare appears soon, then … we should dig up the insider report again.
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