The surprise release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on April 22 sent shockwaves through the gaming community, but it posed significant challenges for indie developers planning to launch their games on the same day. Jonas Antonsson, co-founder of indie publisher Raw Fury, expressed his concerns on social media about how such "massive" shadow-drops from major titles can overshadow smaller releases.

"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 stated. However, he highlighted the difficulties these sudden releases create for 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 released on April 22. In Post Trauma, players navigate environments, tackle threats, and meet other lost characters in the depths of the Gloom. "Love the game that dropped but feel the pain for our team and especially the developer we’ve worked with for years - who has poured his heart and soul into his game," Antonsson lamented.

Raw Fury expressed their frustration on Twitter with a sarcastic post on April 22: "Thank god Post Trauma was the only notable release of today and nothing else happened!"

From the perspective of Bethesda and its parent company Microsoft, the shadow-drop of Oblivion Remastered was a resounding success. The game saw a strong debut on Steam and has dominated online discussions, with players relishing the return of the game's quirky character faces, nostalgic bugs, and memes.

Even other games that Microsoft has heavily marketed, like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, have felt the impact of Oblivion Remastered. This week, Kepler Interactive, the publisher of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, acknowledged the 'Barbenheimer' effect of launching the same week as Oblivion Remastered. Both games were released directly into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

For Raw Fury, the timing of Post Trauma's release was unfortunate, as they could not have anticipated the shadow-drop of Oblivion Remastered. It may be remembered as just one of those unpredictable events in the gaming industry.

For those diving into Oblivion Remastered, we offer a comprehensive guide covering everything you need to know, including an expansive Interactive Map, 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.