US Gamer - Halting The Decline of Mid-size Studios

Kat Bailey of US Gamer posted a new article about how Obsidian, Robot, and Double Fine have managed to stay in business as Mid-size Studios, and halt the decline. 

I'll focus on  the part about Obsidianas as it has more relevance to our site.

The Studios: Obsidian Entertainment

The successor to Black Isle Studios, which was one of the most acclaimed RPG developers of the mid-90s. Having previously worked on such classic RPGs as Fallout 2 and Planescape Torment, they've recently returned to their roots with Pillars of Eternity—a new isometric RPG funded in part by Kickstarter. 

Notable Games:

• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
• Neverwinter Nights 2
• Fallout: New Vegas
• South Park: The Stick of Truth

Sawyer eventually got his wish, with the Pillars of Eternity Kickstarter campaign launching in late 2012, and being fully-funded not long after. Sawyer has thus far been pleased with the results, and there are already plans for an expansion pack, and possibly a sequel or two as well.

Sawyer is confident, even cocky, when it comes to Obsidian's ability to succeed now that isometric RPGs have a niche again. "Pillars of Eternity was something we knew we could do, and we knew... you knew... we could do. We could pitch an Infinity Engine-style game made by the people who did Neverwinter, Temple of Elemental Evil, and Planescape and have people say, 'Yeah, I think you can do that."