It's an awkward spot to be in when a game rooted in anti-capitalism and deeply political messaging is backed by a megacorp like Microsoft, as we saw last year when Obsidian first announced that The Outer Worlds 2 would retail at $80 — as my colleague Jade King wrote at the time, just how much can the writing and satire stand up in a game backed by one of the wealthiest corporations on the planet?
That was the position indie deckbuilder All Will Rise found itself in, a courtroom drama about a crack team of environmentalists "taking a corrupt billionaire to court for a river's murder," which proudly asks, "Are you ready to take revenge on the rich and powerful destroying the world?" With Microsoft embroiled in controversy, going all in on AI, supplying tech to the Israeli Defense Force - who the UN commission of inquiry accused of genocide - and firing employees for protesting, All Will Rise's core message started to ring hollow.
Speculative Agency, a team made up of Horizon, Sable, Thirsty Suitors, and Boyfriend Dungeon talent, "became aware of the No Games For Genocide campaign late last year," a group of devs, union organizers, and journalists...
