Obsidian will create games based on the Pathfinder universe

Obsidian Entertainment has partnered with Paizo Inc. to produce games based in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game universe. The studio behind the classic Dungeons and Dragons adaptation Neverwinter Nights 2 — as well as Fallout: New Vegas and Kickstarter project Pillars of Eternity — has announced that its first project under the new deal will be a tablet game based on the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game.

Paizo previously worked as a licensee of Wizards of the Coast to publish Dungeons and Dragons table top game periodicals. When Wizards launched the 4th edition of Dungeons and Dragons in 2008, Pathfinder published its own source books based on the previous edition, known as 3.5. In doing so, Paizo leveraged the open-source nature of Wizard's previous Dungeons and Dragons iteration to begin their own universe.

Known simply as Pathfinder in the table top gaming community, the gaming system has grown to be a serious commercial competitor to Dungeons and Dragons table top games.

Obsidian's effort to enter into a licensing agreement is a watershed moment for Paizo and gives it a beachhead to expand its brand in the digital space.

"At Obsidian we have a long history of working with the greatest RPG franchises, and we're thrilled to get to play in the Pathfinder universe now," said CEO Feargus Urquhart in a press release today issued from the GenCon convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. "We're huge fans and can't wait to bring what we do in the electronic gaming world to Pathfinder fans everywhere".

Obsidian says that their tablet game will feature unique characters composed of decks of cards. Through deck customization, those characters and their abilities will grow to "suit each individual's vision of their character."

"Obsidian is a video game developer at the top of its game", said Paizo CEO Lisa Stevens in the press release. "Being able to bring that type of experience and passion to Pathfinder can only mean great things, both for our loyal Pathfinder community and for all fans of great [card-based role-playing games]."