Obsidian will join Wasteland 2 if $2.1m raised

Obsidian Entertainment will be joining inXile’s Kickstarter-funded Wasteland 2 project if the campaign reaches $2.1 million.

The announcement comes from British PC games site Rock Paper Shotgun, which says it was contacted by inXile this morning.

“Wasteland is one of my favorite RPGs of all time, and when Brian asked if I wanted to work on the sequel, I jumped at the chance," said Obisidian’s Chris Avellone, creator of the RPG classic Planescape: Torment.

"While I’ve worked on Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas, getting the chance to work on the spiritual successor to the Fallout franchise is a honor.”

InXile and Interplay founder Brian Fargo says this move isn’t just a whim. He has a good deal of experience working with Obsidian.

“I have a history with the guys at Obsidian that dates back to the days of Interplay’s Black Isle studios," said Fargo.

"Together we created some of the greatest RPG’s of all time, from Fallout 1 & 2 to titles like Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment. It is great that we now have a chance to reunite on a project like Wasteland 2.”

Obsidian are bringing more than just talent to the table, and Fargo was keen to point out the advantages of the studio’s toolset.

“Obsidian has an incredible library of story, dialog and design tools that they have used to create hits like Neverwinter Nights 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, and of course, Fallout: New Vegas," he said.

"Regardless of the tech we use to develop the game, experience with these tools will help us efficiently design the game without wasting time and resources on the tools needed for development.”

This is good news for Obsidian, who have faced a series of setbacks in recent months, missing a bonus from publisher Bethesda, a game cancellation from Microsoft, and a round of layoffs.

The Wasteland 2 Kickstarter has raised $1.7 million, and pledges to donate five percent of all profits to future crowd funding campaigns.