inXile CEO Brian Fargo Calls Clockwork Revolution the Studio’s Most Ambitious Project Yet

inXile Entertainment has been relatively quiet on Clockwork Revolution for more than 6 months, but a new interview with studio founder and CEO Brian Fargo signals that the team is scaling up its ambitions in a very specific way: bringing the dense choice reactivity that typically defines isometric roleplaying games into a first person action RPG format.

In the new GamesRadar interview, Fargo frames Clockwork Revolution as the studio’s most ambitious game yet, saying it is “probably by a factor of 10” because of the challenge of translating that traditionally isometric level of interactivity into a first person experience.

That ambition is not just a marketing headline. Fargo’s core message is about protecting player agency as a product pillar, not a bullet point. He argues that roleplaying only works when the world meaningfully responds to how you behave, and that if every path funnels into the same outcome, immersion collapses into the feeling of pushing through a scripted game. The studio’s approach is to invest in alternate routes and consequences, even if that means building content that many players will never see in a single run.

One of the most telling production indicators from the interview is Fargo’s claim that inXile is building roughly 30% more content than what any one player could experience in a single playthrough, specifically to support different archetypes and approaches. The design philosophy is blunt: players need real permission to be bad if the game wants “good” to feel like a true choice instead of a forced identity. He also hints that the team’s darker sense of humor is not just flavor, but part of how those consequences land, which suggests Clockwork Revolution is aiming for a tone that can pivot between serious stakes and sharp, uncomfortable comedy without losing cohesion.

This messaging lines up with what Fargo previously teased after the new trailer shown at the 2025 Xbox Game Showcase in June, where he highlighted “truly evil” options and multi person dialogue scenes. Combined with the interview, the picture that emerges is a first person RPG built around systemic narrative pressure, where conversations, faction responses, and downstream outcomes are expected to shift depending on how you play, not just what you choose in a single cutscene.

Clockwork Revolution was first revealed during the 2023 Xbox Games Showcase, and it still has no release date. That places the launch window firmly in the wait and see category, with the realistic expectation that it may not land until 2027 depending on Microsoft and inXile’s internal roadmap. For additional context, inXile’s last major release was Wasteland 3 in August 2020, which underscores just how long this studio has been investing in its next big swing.

Right now, the game is announced for PC and Xbox Series S and X. Given Microsoft’s evolving multiplatform strategy, a PlayStation 5 version is possible over time, but nothing beyond PC and Xbox has been confirmed, so any platform expansion remains speculation until officially announced.

If inXile can actually deliver on first person reactivity at the scale Fargo is describing, Clockwork Revolution could become a flagship example of how narrative density does not have to be sacrificed when a studio shifts perspective and combat format. The upside is massive, but so is the risk, because ambitious reactivity is one of the hardest things to ship cleanly without bugs, cut content, or diluted consequence chains.

What matters most to you in a reactive RPG like this, deeper consequences for being evil, or more subtle world changes that reward roleplay choices over time?