Xbox's Clockwork Revolution is its dev's "most ambitious title, probably by a factor of 10" — it sounds like the RPG of my dreams, and probably yours too

Microsoft and Xbox Game Studios have been on a roll with massive RPG releases recently, ranging from Bethesda's Starfield to Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed, Grounded 2, and The Outer Worlds 2. The next big one on the horizon is inXile Entertainment's Xbox and PC title Clockwork Revolution — and according to founder and CEO Brian Fargo, it's the developer's biggest, wildest game yet.

It's the studio's "most ambitious title, probably by a factor of 10," he told GamesRadar+ in a recent interview, before explaining that his ultimate goal is to "bring the level of reactivity from our isometric titles into something first-person." The most recent of these is the critically acclaimed post-apocalyptic 2020 RPG Wasteland 3, the latest entry in the classic series that inspired Fallout.

Fargo has touched on Clockwork Revolution's extensive reactivity before, calling it "the most complex game I've ever worked on." He expands on how it ties into inXile's design philosophies here, though, and discusses why having the world change and react in response to your actions is so important for achieving the kind of roleplaying experience he wants to make.

"inXile very much hangs its hat on reactivity. For me, roleplaying means I can play a role and actually affect the world around me. If all paths lead to the same outcome, the immersion breaks, and you start to feel like you're just playing a game rather than living in one," he said. "But when the world is constantly reacting and reflecting your choices, both in big ways and just as importantly in small ways, that's when immersion really sets in."

Fargo went on to note that the experience will be incredibly crunchy, systems driven, and content rich, with "roughly 30% more content than what any player could see in a single playthrough." He also says that the devs want you to be able to approach the time-bending steampunk adventure in any way you want to, with player freedom prioritized and every choice or path featuring equal viability and depth.

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"Here's what's really important to us: if you don't allow the player to be bad, to really go down those rabbit holes and see the consequences play out, then they never had free will to be good in the first place. They're not choosing to be good, they're just being forced down a path," Fargo explained. "We think it's essential that players are making that choice, not having it made for them. We also have a very dark sense of humor, which makes all of it even more fun."

That rich, crunchy complexity extends to progression and combat, too, with Clockwork Revolution offering a plethora of different buildcrafting options like numerous nifty gadgets, special powers, and weapons you can deeply customize over the course of a full playthrough.

"The complexity is very intentional. We're intending for this to be a game where players go online and debate what the best build is, or share tactics and discover emergent strategies we didn't even anticipate, and that requires a lot of variables," Fargo highlighted.

"We want players to navigate the world and combat in a way that suits their playstyle. It's the same philosophy we bring to the narrative side — we make that flexible so people can make it their story," he added. "Whether it's how you spec your character, how you modify your weapons, or how you handle a conversation, the goal is for players to feel like they're authoring their own experience."

All in all, Clockwork Revolution sounds like the RPG of my dreams, with Fargo's emphasis on the importance of reactivity, player freedom, and playstyle variety checking all the right boxes for me. Those are the qualities that make some of my favorite titles like Fallout: New Vegas and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 so terrific, so it sounds like inXile's new game may be joining that list when it comes out.

Sadly, we don't have an official release date or window for Clockwork Revolution yet (there are rumors of a 2026 release). Whenever it does come out, though, it will be available to play across Xbox, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming with Xbox Game Pass.

What do you think of Clockwork Revolution? Are you looking forward to diving into inXile's new RPG like I am, or has it not particularly interested you thus far? Let me know how you're feeling in the comments.

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