Obsidian Entertainment Gains Rights to Pathfinder License
Roll for Initiative
Announced in Indianapolis this week (and just in time for GenCon), Obsidian Entertainment entered into a partnership with Paizo Inc to create electronic games based upon the extremely popular Pathfinder RPG system and setting.
For the uninitiated, "Pathfinder" is a system of "Dungeons & Dragons" that takes the rules set forth by the 3rd and 3.5th editions of the game and modifies and extends them to be simpler, easier to use, and often more interesting than the source material as set forth by Wizards of the Coast. Originally published in 2009, "Pathfinder" has actually overtaken the classic system of "Dungeons & Dragons" in sales in recent years and won awards for their efforts.
Obsidian Entertainment, responsible for such titles as "Fallout: New Vegas," "Knights of the Old Republic 2," and "South Park: Stick of Truth," is a powerhouse of a company and its union with Paizo Inc. has potential to bring great things. Obsidian Entertainment CEO Feargus Urquhart seems excited about the partnership:
At Obsidian, we have a long history of working with the greatest RPG franchises, and we're thrilled to get to play in the Pathfinder universe now. We're huge fans and can't wait to bring what we do in the electronic gaming world to Pathfinder fans everywhere. Feargus Urquhart
The first product that Obsidian Entertainment is planning on working out is a tablet version of the popular "Pathfinder Adventure Card Game." The game, which was first released last year at GenCon (and sold out in less than four hours), is a cooperative card game where players build decks to represent their characters and work to overcome ever-increasing challenges. Since its release, it has gained mostly favorable reviews with a solid 7.8/10 ranking at BoardGameGeek. The game has bi-monthly releases, allowing a lot of opportunity for players to fine-tune their decks and make their ideal character.
The announcement seems to gotten a lot of mixed responses from the Pathfinder community. While community seems glad that Paizo teamed up with such a reputable company, they also seem very underwhelmed that the first release has to do with the "Pathfinder Card Game" and not the actual RPG system.
This partnership has just begun, however, and it will be exciting to see what the future holds.
