Could Obsidian Entertainment be working on a new Conker game?

[lunanto]

Browsing the internet I came across this Twitter thread about a spanish guy, who has done his homework and theorizes about the idea of Obsidian Entertainment working on a new Conker game. I am going to leave you here the first tweet of the thread, in case you want to take a look at it and here I am going to translate for you the main bits that make him think about this possibility. I am bilingual (bragging mode on).




1. Obsidian visited Rare studios in 2019 (this means nothing, I know).

2. Matt Booty, in the "E3 2019 Xbox Game Studios Coliseum" talk, briefly mentioned this possibility. Minute 49:50 of this video:




3. Obsidian is working on multiple projects in this moment, and Brando Adler is leading an unnanounced one.

4. His twitter account has been long inactive, but he follows Rare twitter account. Also, his bio says:

"Game Director at Obsidian Entertainment. Currently working on an unannounced project"

5. MS included a very brief appeareance of Conker in a recent promotional video. Minute 2:26 of this video:




6. In the Rare Replay E3 2018 Trailer we can see the following image:

It seems it showcases the franchises that Rare considers more iconic. Battletoads and Perfect Dark have been already taken care of, but what about Banjo and Conker?

-

I admit all of these could be a whole load of nothing, but just the idea of thinking about this possibility is interesting and exciting at the same time, in my opinion.

 

[trashbandit]

They should let Conker go, it's whole shtick was gross out "adult" humor and that just doesn't play anymore.

 

[_zoipi]

I thought Conker was dead for real. not buying this one.

 

[DrEvil]

Or when the voice of Conker himself posted this "jokingly" mid January?

 

[Betelgeuse]

I don't find any aspect of this compelling or suggestive.

Personally, I'm really cynical about Conker coming back. Like with Banjo, every year folks find some really fuzzy reasons to believe there's a revival around the corner, and it never happens. Additionally, the "recent" attempts to bring Conker back - the Project Spark campaign, Young Conker in Hololens - were incredibly ill-conceived, so I'm not really sure what MS' interest is in the franchise or if they would put together something fans actually want.

Still, I'd like them to make an attempt. I never agreed that the core ideas behind the original were completely untranslatable to the modern era; sure, some tweaks are called for, but a quality platformer with funny writing isn't somehow incompatible with today's market or sensibilities.

 

[RoKKeR]

Let's hope not. Sorry Klob.

 

[Deleted member 68874]

This would mean Obsidian has 5 games in the works right now.

Avowed
Grounded
Josh Sawyer Game(small team of 6 people)
Outer Worlds 2
Conker

That's a lot.
I can honestly say I hope it's not true lol.

 

[Gay Bowser]

Of all the potential Rare IP to dig up, Conker has aged the worst.

 

[Curt Baboon]

It would be so weird if we got a new Conker before Banjo.

Also, I'm totally good if Conker never comes back.

 

[Dyle]

There is no way that Conker would find any success today. People hate mascot characters with an attitude and in general gross-out comedy has been waning. Battletoads already covers that niche, as limited as it probably is, more than well enough for Microsoft's needs.

 

[SnatcherHunter]

Dead cat

 

[ToadPacShakur]

Well, IIIIIIII hope it happens. I'd love a good platformer that doesn't HAVE to appeal to the E for Everyone rating. The difficult thing would be to skirt the line on humor towhere it doesn't fall flat on its face like Duke Nukem Forever. I go back to Conker Live and Reloaded every now and then and it still makes me laugh (particularly the barn tools section, telling one to kill himself), and I think Obsidian could pull it off. Hell, get Matt Stone and Trey Parker to help since they already worked together on Stick of Truth.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

no offense but this would be a waste of talent/time/resources. there are better xbox IPs to bring back.

 

[Gay Bowser]

Well, IIIIIIII hope it happens. I'd love a good platformer that doesn't HAVE to appeal to the E for Everyone rating. The difficult thing would be to skirt the line on humor towhere it doesn't fall flat on its face like Duke Nukem Forever. I go back to Conker Live and Reloaded every now and then and it still makes me laugh (particularly the barn tools section, telling one to kill himself), and I think Obsidian could pull it off. Hell, get Matt Stone and Trey Parker to help since they already worked together on Stick of Truth.

Click to shrink...

"You're making…Conker? But how will you convince people he's not a relic of the late nineties?"
"We're hiring the South Park guys!"

(I know Conker came out in early 2001, but it's so, so late nineties.)

 

[lunanto]

I am pretty surprised to see here folks thinking a new Conker game would copy exactly the humor and the gameplay of past games.

 

[wrowa]

Even if we assume that MS is teasing a Conker comeback none of those evidences feel convincing to me that Obsidian is the studio behind it.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

This would be a great way to make me feel slightly less miserable about never getting to play an Obsidian game again, so sure. Hopefully it happens.

 

[lunanto]

This would be a great way to make me feel slightly less miserable about never getting to play an Obsidian game again, so sure. Hopefully it happens.

Click to shrink...

What does this post mean?

 

[ToadPacShakur]

"You're making…Conker? But how will you convince people he's not a relic of the late nineties?"
"We're hiring the South Park guys!"

(I know Conker came out in early 2001, but it's so, so late nineties.)

Click to shrink...

Yea but the Pandemic Special episode showed they still got it. I'm just saying they are good at doing that style of humor, and Stick of Truth was very well received. I think Fractured But Whole wasn't as much but that had nothing to do with the South Park people.

 

[TheUnsungHero26]

If true (and that's a BIG if), Obsidian is actually a great choice for this.

A Conker game in 2021 would have to be a lot more than just movie parodies and cute cartoon animals doing adult things. Obsidian's writers have the talent to provide a fresh take on it.

 

[Kschreck]

Lots of people want a Banjo game but I don't see a whole lot of people asking for a new Conker game. I myself would be pretty upset if Conker gets a new game and Banjo does not. I don't understand why Microsoft won't make a new Banjo but are still selling a lot of new Banjo-Kazooie merchandise. Kind of insulting really.

 

[iareharSon]

What does this post mean?

Click to shrink...

Pretty obvious what is meant tbh lmao

 

[Deleted member 54073]

Uh.. I hope not.

Conker is the last thing I want to see from the studio that gave us some NWN, KOTOR and Pillars games.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

What does this post mean?

Click to shrink...

I don't like Conker very much, hah.

 

[| TrusT |]

It's a game intrinsicly linked to British humour, I'm not sure I'd want an American dev to put their spin on it as something would be lost in translation.

Don't agree with all of the salty people above, Moan moan. Games are entertainment not for hipster cool points.

 

[Uzupedro]

I am pretty surprised to see here folks thinking a new Conker game would copy exactly the humor and the gameplay of past games.

Click to shrink...

The humor is one of the main selling points of the game, even if it did not age well or whatever, maybe there is a good point between OG Conker and Young Conker but it would be hard to do something interesting with it, at least I can't see it.

 

[sibarraz]

How could Obsidian tackle so many projects at the same time?

 

[FarSight XR-20]

Bring back Conker. That game was amazing (like every other Rareware game on the N64) and I would love to see a refined and reimagined Conker game.

And bring back Banjo and Viva Piñata too. All of them.

I don't know what to think about this theory but I would be very happy if it's true. The more Rare IPs get rebooted, the better. And if not, I'm still excicted to see what Brandon is working on. Grounded proved that Obsidian is largely capable to create great things outside of the RPG front.

 

[Karateka]

Uh.. I hope not.

Conker is the last thing I want to see from the studio that gave us some NWN, KOTOR and Pillars games.

Click to shrink...

It's also the studio that just made a small honey I shrunk the kids game. They can support multiple projects

 

[TaleSpun]

Imagine thinking Conker is the vibe in 2021

 

[trashbandit]

I am pretty surprised to see here folks thinking a new Conker game would copy exactly the humor and the gameplay of past games.

Click to shrink...

I mean...what else is there to Conker? It's whole thing, and I mean the whole thing, is "woaaah look at this boss made of shit, isn't that crazy?". Conker as a mascot isn't anywhere near as beloved as Banjoo/Kazooie, I think we'd sooner see a new game focused on them than Conker.

 

[Kazooie]

no offense but this would be a waste of talent/time/resources. there are better xbox IPs to bring back.

Click to shrink...

From my perspective it would be the best use of Obsidian ever. Though is there any platforming talent in Obsidian? (Anyway, the arguments for this to be true are weak)

 

[Scottoest]

I personally never cared about Conker in the slightest, but if they just took the basic of Conker and the aesthetic, then wrote a *genuinely funny* and "blue" game around him, I'd certainly be interested. But the asterisks are around the words genuinely funny for a reason.

As for Banjo, I'm still willing to put down $5 that there's either a sequel or remake in development as we speak.

 

[Deleted member 54073]

It's also the studio that just made a small honey I shrunk the kids game. They can support multiple projects

Click to shrink...

Which was also not my cup of tea.

 

[dgrdsv]

I sure hope not. None of the studios bought by MS recently should work on their old franchises.

 

[Karateka]

Also...

Killer instinct
Battletoads
Perfect dark
Conker

...

Spoiler

not banjo yet, we still have jet force gemini, blast corps, grabbed by the ghoulies... There's at least 20 years before rare needs to make another Banjo.

 

[ghostcrew]

I feel like if any Xbox studio were to make a new Conker I'd want it to be Double Fine.

I'm not desperate to see a Conker revival (I didn't love it the first time around really, outside of the shock of a game like that being on the N64) but if Double Fine announced that they were putting out a little Conker project I'd at least be intrigued.

 

[Goldenroad]

Imagine thinking Conker is the vibe in 2021

Click to shrink...

True, but also imagine thinking Battletoads was the vibe in 2020 (It was a bad game, don't get me wrong), but sometimes a "nostalgic" name/IP is all you need to get a project pushed through. I think it's fair to argue that the longer you let an IP sit dormant, the more difficult it is to bring it back and keep it relevant, so maybe it's just "let's just put out a small scale Conker game on Game Pass so that people don't completely forget about it, because then where is the value in the IP"?

 

[Bradbatross]

Uh.. I hope not.

Conker is the last thing I want to see from the studio that gave us some NWN, KOTOR and Pillars games.

Click to shrink...

Don't worry, they're also giving us Avowed.

 

[DongBeetle]

Yeah I think it's a little late for Conkee and without Chris Seavor it just wouldn't be the same

 

[Oliver James]

I love both Obsidian and Conker but why this combination

 

[HebrewHammer]

They should let Conker go, it's whole shtick was gross out "adult" humor and that just doesn't play anymore.

Click to shrink...

that's like saying GoW should have been let go for similar reasons.

IP can "grow up"

 

[-Tetsuo-]

I mean...what else is there to Conker? It's whole thing, and I mean the whole thing, is "woaaah look at this boss made of shit, isn't that crazy?". Conker as a mascot isn't anywhere near as beloved as Banjoo/Kazooie, I think we'd sooner see a new game focused on them than Conker.

Click to shrink...

Obsidian did pretty well with the South Park license. I think this would be fine.

 

[NinjaScooter]

I mean they made a South Park game so I guess it would't be the biggest stretch. My initial reaction is that like Duke Nukem, Conker 64 is embarrassingly shitty in 2021, but It'd be interesting to see what good storytellers would do with it assuming they'd be self aware about it.

 

[Brrandon]

I love both Obsidian and Conker but why this combination

Click to shrink...

Because if a team of 10 people inside obsidian wants to make a new conker and feel like they can do a good job then why not?

 

[Goldenroad]

I love both Obsidian and Conker but why this combination

Click to shrink...

TBF, I didn't picture a Honey I Shrunk the Kids game coming out of that studio either, but they seem to be doing a good job with it.

 

[The Lord of Cereal]

I mean, the South Park Stick of Truth game was made by Obsidian and well received, wasn't it? I think a Conker action platformer in the vein of modern Ratchet and Clank with the Stick of Truth writing team and some RPG elements would be a great game. Something stupidly fun and very immature comedy style would be interesting in today's world.

That being said, I highly doubt Obsidian is actually making a new Conker game, Adler's game, assuming it exists, will probably be a smaller scale isometric game given that he was a producer on Neverwinter Nights 2 and the two Pillars of Eternity games, and I doubt Obisidian has the budget or the employees to handle two AAA games (Avowed and the Outer World's teams next game) on top of a larger AA game (which a new Conker likely would be, on account of the team not having done platformers in that vein) and two smaller AA games (Grounded and whatever Josh Sawyer is doing)

 

[Damn Silly]

there were folk suggesting that Naughty Dog should be the dev to make a new MGS so sure why not, this sounds slightly less daft than that ridiculousness

(no I do not think Obsidian are working on a Conker game)

 

[CupOfDoom]

Doesn't Obsidian already have alot on their plate regarding projects. That survival game and, Avowed and, what ever Josh Sawyer is working on. Also, do we really need a new Conker game.

 

[noinspiration]

What a waste of Obsidian that would be