"Indie Publisher Struggles After Oblivion Remastered Overshadows Their Game"

The unexpected shadow-drop release of *The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered* on April 22 sent shockwaves through the gaming community. However, for indie developers who had planned to launch their games on the same day, it was a challenging moment. Jonas Antonsson, co-founder of indie publisher Raw Fury, took to social media to discuss how these "massive" shadow-drops from major titles can overshadow smaller releases, causing them to be "buried."

"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 expressed. However, he highlighted the struggles faced by indie developers: "But from the perspective of indies and indie publishers, this is the problem with these sorts 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 era classics, which Raw Fury published on April 22. In *Post Trauma*, players "navigate environments, tackle threats, and meet other lost characters in the depths of the Gloom." Antonsson shared his empathy for the team and the developer who had poured their heart and soul into the game, feeling the impact of the shadow-drop.

Raw Fury humorously tweeted on April 22: "Thank god Post Trauma was the only notable release of today and nothing else happened!" highlighting their frustration.

From Bethesda and parent company Microsoft’s perspective, the *Oblivion Remastered* shadow-drop was a resounding success. The game saw a strong start on Steam and dominated online discussions as players reminisced about the game's iconic character faces, bugs, and memes.

Even other games that Microsoft had heavily marketed found themselves competing against *Oblivion Remastered*. This week, *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33* publisher Kepler Interactive acknowledged the 'Barbenheimer' effect of launching in the same week as *Oblivion Remastered*. Both titles were launched directly into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

For Raw Fury, setting the *Post Trauma* release date without knowing about *Oblivion Remastered* was unfortunate timing. It may go down as one of those unpredictable events in the gaming industry.

For those eager to dive into *Oblivion Remastered*, we have a comprehensive guide that covers everything from an expansive Interactive Map to complete Walkthroughs for the Main Questline and every Guild Quest, tips on How to Build the Perfect Character, Things to Do First, every PC Cheat Code, and much more.