Why Oblivion Remastered, Expedition 33 Are Compared to…

Bethesda stunned the gaming world this week when it announced and simultaneously released a remaster of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion on modern platforms. Although the existence of this Virtuos-developed re-release had been leaked a week beforehand, many people likely weren't ready for this surprise reveal. Despite being labeled as a mere 'remaster,' many of the key elements of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, such as its voice acting, control schemes, sound effects, and animations, have been drastically improved compared to its 2006 predecessor.

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered's surprise Tuesday launch puts it right next to another major RPG that came out this week, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Developed by the newly established French studio Sandfall Interactive, Clair Obscur is a turn-based role-playing game that takes heavy inspiration from the Japanese RPGs of yore, such as Final Fantasy, Lost Odyssey, and Persona. It was released on all current-gen consoles on Thursday, April 24, just two days after Oblivion Remastered. The contiguous launch dates of these two games have drawn a lot of comparisons to Barbenheimer, the cultural phenomenon that dominated the internet in 2023.

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Xbox Series X custom console 2x1 composite

Xbox Giving Away Clair Obscur-Themed Series X Console

Microsoft is giving away a custom Xbox Series X to celebrate the upcoming release of Sandfall Interactive's Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

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By Dominik Bošnjak

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Oblivion Remastered's Adjacent Launches Are Being Compared to Barbenheimer

Barbenheimer Was a Cultural Phenomenon that Took Over the Internet in 2023

Universal Studios' live-action Barbie adaptation and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer biopic are two completely unrelated films, but they became the subject of many headlines and memes a few years ago due to their shared release date. In the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, Barbie and Oppenheimer both debuted on July 21, 2023. Many moviegoers found it funny that two films with drastically different tones were being released on the same day, so they went to watch them in theaters as a double feature. This phenomenon became known as Barbenheimer, and it significantly boosted the success of Barbie and Oppenheimer at the box office.

Kepler Interactive, the publisher of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, recently made a post on X referencing Barbenheimer and comparing it to Oblivion Remastered and its video game. To further promote the comparison, Kepler shared an edited image of the key art for Clair Obscur with an Oblivion Gate in the middle. Not too long afterward, Bethesda and the Clair Obscur developers also joined in on the fun. Following the release of the Oblivion remaster, the official Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 account replied to a Bethesda X post with the same Oblivion crossover image that Kepler made. Bethesda, in turn, responded with a heart and handshake emoji.

Clair Obscur and Oblivion Remastered May Not Overshadow Each Other, Despite What Some Fans Think

Unlike Barbie and Oppenheimer, there is some overlap between the target audiences for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered. Although the games have completely different gameplay systems, they're still both RPGs at the end of the day, so those who are interested in one title may also want to play the other. This has led to some fans being concerned about the games cannibalizing each other. Many have noted that, since Oblivion Remastered was shadow-dropped out of nowhere, it could overshadow Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's release.

Barbie and Oppenheimer were launched on the very same day, but since there's a two-day gap between Oblivion Remastered and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's releases, the two situations are not exactly the same.

It's important to note that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Oblivion Remastered have both been launched on the same platforms. The two titles have not only landed on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, but they also came to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on day one. Since Game Pass subscribers have access to these games at no extra cost, they can experience both of them without having to choose between purchasing one or the other. This may reduce most of the negative impact that Oblivion Remastered and Clair Obscur's adjacent launches may have, and it could even lead to a Barbenheimer-esque sales boost over time.

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