Microsoft has had no input in Wasteland 3 following its purchase of inXile Entertainment last year. Rather it has offered financial security to the studio behind it.
Speaking to
Gamesradar+, the studio's founder Brian Fargo (
pictured) explained that "Microsoft basically came in, gave us a tonne of cash, and said go and make the best game that you possibly can."
Besides financial stability, the publishing giant has granted the studio more time.
"It's always the elephant in the room with game development, time. When you speak to the best developers in the industry - whether it is Rockstar or Blizzard - the biggest factor is always time. It's the same across the group, it's always time, time, time," said Fargo.
"We think a certain way about development and we are run very tightly as a result. We're not looking for three to six extra years, but three to six months.
“For a group like us, that can be night and day. Six months can make all the difference; six months could be a '10 on Metacritic' change for us."
Wasteland 3’s game director Tim Campbell added: "The nice thing for InXile is that Microsoft hasn't changed what game we are making at all.
"That is what some people I think were afraid of when they read about the acquisition. But really, Microsoft is just helping us do what we do but really, Microsoft is just helping us do what we do but better, right?"
Fargo went on to explain that Microsoft’s support has taken Wasteland 3 to new heights. The game has “hundreds of thousands of lines of dialogue,” which wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the big M.
"Microsoft has a user research lab, which is going to give us feedback on the UI and what people are experiencing. And they have their localisation groups and their QA groups,” said Fargo.
“I could go on, but you have to understand that it is allowing us to make a more robust product. Wasteland 3 players are going to get something much better than we could have done with just our limited resources."
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