The remastered version of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion came out of nowhere. After the game’s reveal, it was released immediately. Certain games suffer because of this.
What is the problem? Many players are excited about the surprise release of Oblivion Remastered. Shadow drops like this happen every now and then, most recently with RuneScape: Dragonwilds. However, such announcements cause a lot of frustration on the publisher and developer side. Indie publishers, in particular, are heavily affected by such shadow drops, as Jónas Antonsson, CEO of Raw Fury, writes on X:
I loved Oblivion (when I was younger) and still love it, and I’m personally excited that it’s being brought back to life and introduced to a whole new generation of players.
But from the perspective of indies and indie publishers, that’s exactly the problem with such massive shadow drops. Everything gets buried more or less. We don’t have the money or the muscle to throw around, so everything is carefully planned. Including the timing of the release, based on other releases, etc. – to maximize the chances of grabbing attention.
He personally loves Oblivion, but he also feels the pain that the Raw Fury team must be experiencing right now. They are taking on the publishing of the horror game Post Trauma, which is said to be inspired by classic PS2 titles, and have been preparing for the release for years.
The game was released on April 22, 2025, coinciding with the release of Oblivion. Normally, indie publishers try to schedule their releases as far away from major AAA titles as possible. This is not possible when the release happens spontaneously.
AAA Title Releases Determine the Release of Smaller Games
What could this mean? The significant impacts that the release of larger titles can have are evident in the case of GTA 6. Even the biggest publishers fear the release and plan the release of their own games around the planned release of GTA 6.
The hype for GTA 6 and other AAA titles can cause players to lose interest in other titles. Such large games draw “time and money” away from the video game market, causing smaller titles to sink and not achieve the profits and attention they had hoped for.
This, in turn, can lead to the worst-case scenario where no sequels are developed because of the significant losses incurred. This is why indie publishers think more carefully about when to release their game.
Are there also winners? Besides Oblivion, another major RPG has released: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Publisher Kepler Interactive jokes on X that it’s “like Barbenheimer.” With this, the publisher refers to a similar situation in the film sector: Barbie and Oppenheimer overshadowed many movies that were released in the same year.
However, the competition led to Oppenheimer and Barbie becoming major successes despite their simultaneous release period. The same could be true for Clair Obscur, as the game has received above-average praise from the press. You can read MeinMMO’s review here: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in review – The most emotional RPG of the year, but you have to earn the story
