inXile Entertainment

inXile Entertainment is an American video game developer based in Tustin, California, founded in October 2002 by Brian Fargo. Fargo was previously the co-founder of Interplay, the studio behind Fallout, Wasteland, The Bard’s Tale, and Baldur’s Gate, and brought much of that RPG pedigree with him when he started inXile. Microsoft acquired inXile in November 2018 and the studio became part of Xbox Game Studios alongside Obsidian Entertainment, which was acquired at the same time.

inXile Entertainment Games

inXile’s first release was The Bard’s Tale in 2004, a comedic action RPG that reimagined the classic Interplay series. The studio spent several years making smaller games for mobile and Nintendo platforms before returning to its RPG roots with a Kickstarter campaign for Wasteland 2 in 2012. The campaign raised over $2.9 million, well beyond its $900,000 goal, and Wasteland 2 released in 2014 to critical acclaim. inXile followed that with Torment: Tides of Numenera in 2017, a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment that broke Kickstarter records by raising $1 million in its first seven hours. Wasteland 3 released in 2020 under Microsoft’s ownership and was the studio’s most polished entry in the series.

inXile Entertainment and Microsoft

Brian Fargo has credited the Microsoft acquisition with allowing inXile to operate at a higher budget level than was possible as an independent studio. Before the acquisition, the studio occupied what Fargo described as an uncanny valley between indie development and full AAA production, where player expectations were high but resources were limited. With Microsoft’s backing, inXile is currently developing Clockwork Revolution, a first person steampunk RPG set in the city of Avalon with time travel as its central mechanic. The studio is also working on a second unannounced RPG built in Unreal Engine 5 with survival game elements.