The Outer Worlds isn’t even out yet, but developer Obsidian Entertainment is already gearing up for its next big release. Last week, the company posted nearly a dozen new job roles, pointing towards another ambitious RPG.
The collection of eleven new jobs runs an impressive gamut, from engine and network programmers, to UI and lighting artists, all the way up to lead narrative designer. And it’s that final role that offers the greatest insight into what the studio has planned.
The advert opens by stating that “Obsidian is looking for a Lead Narrative Designer to join the development team making our next great multi-platform RPG.” Given the studio’s experience in that particular genre, that’s no great surprise, but it’s good to know they’re sticking to their guns, and that a PC release is probably reasonably likely. The post also asks for “experience working as a writer on at least one shipped game with branching dialogue,” suggesting that the new project could have multiple endings.
Other listings suggest that combat is likely to be pretty important. A character animator will be responsible for creating “high quality combat animations,” while a dedicated combat designer will be “developing first-person melee combat gameplay,” as well as ranged combat.
Obsidian Entertainment just opened up 12 new positions. The studio – as already reported before – now lists over 200 employees. https://t.co/ZZo7f6FCpK
– Unreal Engine 4
– Day and night cycle
– first-person melee & ranged combat gameplay
– AAA
– high profile role-playing game pic.twitter.com/jLcsdprmiR— Klobrille (@klobrille) September 21, 2019
Elsewhere, details are pretty scarce, but that’s not too surprising given how early in development the game is likely to be. We know that it’s probably going to be built in Unreal Engine 4, and that a day/night cycle is planned, but beyond that, Obsidian is keeping its cards close to its chest.
Exactly what the studio has planned, then, is something of a mystery. I’d say that it’s definitely early days to be committing to an Outer Worlds sequel, but with the amount of money Epic appears to be shelling out for big name exclusives, perhaps Obsidian is feeling confident.