Despite bothOrigames receiving critical acclaim from players and critics alike, the series seems to have come to an abrupt halt as developer Moon Studios moves on to other projects. With gamers' obsession for trilogies and rules-of-three, many have been left wondering why a third game hasn’t happened yet and if a threequel follow-up could ever happen at all. While there are some obvious challenges that a thirdOrigame would need to overcome, there are other more complex factors that emerged following the launch ofOri and The Will of The Wispsthat may have grounded the series indefinitely.
BetweenOri and The Blind ForestandOri and The Will of The Wisps, the series forged a name for itself on the indie gaming scene as it joined the likes of otherleading metroidvanias such asHollow Knight,Guacamelee,andAxiom Verge. By taking inspiration from a breadth of sources ranging from Disney films likeThe Lion Kingto classic games such asRayman,Oriwas able to cultivate a unique style and gaming experience that captivated players. But with just two games to the series and no more planned for the foreseeable future, those same players are keen to know what happened toOri.
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A New Ori Game Was Possible, But Not With Ori
BothThe Blind Forestand the sequelThe Will of The Wispsshare a general premise where the player takes control of Ori, the eponymous guardian spirit connected to the games' Spirit Trees and lands they protect. Both games center around stories in which the players must traverse the game to activate or collect various MacGuffins - forThe Blind Forestit’s elements, whereasThe Will of The Wispsuses wisps - in service of restoring power to said Spirit Trees. Despite this, both games have their own stories, characters, and motivations to drive their narratives, making each game feel distinct but familiar.
However, inThe Will of the Wisps’ending, the game concludes with Ori sacrificing themselves to save the Spirit Tree and the land of Niwen. While Ori theoretically lives on in the land of Niwen and is revealed to have been the game’s narrator, it is treated as if Ori has in essence died. As the games' titular character, this presents the biggest challenge to continuing the series under theOriname. Despite this technicality, Moon Studios did confirm that it would like to continue the series with a game set in the same world, but it would likely be with a new protagonist.
Moon Studios Moving On To New Projects
WithOri’sstory effectively completed byThe Will of The Wisps’conclusion, Moon Studios has now turned its attention to future projects. It’s likely that for an indie developer that Moon Studios didn’t want to appear shackled to theOriseries and identity associated with it. This would explain the sudden shift in genre when, following the success ofThe Will of The Wisps,Moon Studios announced its next game was an action RPG. In particular, from what Moon Studios has revealed about the unnamed project so far, the game will be far removed from the fantastical elements that characterizedOriand will instead feature human characters.
What is also important is that following the announcement of its new project, it was further revealed thatXbox Games Studios would not be publishing Moon Studios' next game. This garnered attention as bothOrigames had been published by Microsoft and Xbox, meaning Moon Studios would be moving away from a strong relationship given the games' overwhelming successes. to explain its decision, Moon Studios claimed that it had been motivated by the limitations of version exclusivity since it had ideally wanted to bringOrito all other consoles and platforms.
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By changing publishers, Moon Studios would be able to produce new games that wouldn’t be forced to be version exclusives to certain platforms. For its upcoming action RPG title, the developer has already signed anew deal with Private Divisionas publisher. This means that theOriIP is now left in limbo between Moon Studios and Xbox, so there may be legal technicalities that could prevent a thirdOrigame from being made. Whether Moon Studios can recapture itsOrimagic in a new game or with a spiritual successor will remain to be seen, but it will likely be withoutOriwhatsoever.
Moon Studios' Allegations Caused Microsoft To Move Away
However, there appears to be more to the story about Moon Studios and Microsoft parting ways than players first thought. It was alleged that, despite the series' success, behind-the-scenesMoon Studios was creating an oppressive working environment. The issues raised cover a broad spectrum of serious claims, including accusations of sexism, racism, and crunch culture, and came at a time when many development studios were coming under fire for similar accusations. But while other, larger studios vowed to improve working conditions, Moon Studios issued a statement that appeared to dismiss the allegations as unfounded but still apologized if any staff were unintentionally hurt.
So while Moon Studios claims its reasoning for moving away from its Xbox publishers was due to a desire for creative freedom, Microsoft has a different explanation for the separation. Corroborated by journalists engaged with the story,Microsoft supposedly passed on Moon Studios' next gamebecause of the allegations the developer faced. While these allegations may well have been the impetus behind Microsoft’s decision, it’s just as likely that Moon Studios had desired to branch away, which only suggests that the separation was ultimately a foregone conclusion only hastened by circumstances.
In short, while a thirdOrigame might have been possible eventually should Moon Studios and Microsoft have decided to revisit the series, it seems that those bridges have been irreparably burnt. Not only doesOriface the hurdle of creating a brand-new lead protagonist, but the rights to the series are currently hanging between two companies that no longer seem interested in working with one another. It’s a disappointing situation for gamers who are just fans ofOri, but it’s a reality they may have to accept, moving on to similar games such as theupcomingHollow Knight: Silksonginstead.
