“System Shock and Deus Ex, they were RPGs. People called them RPGs”: Gloomwood’s publisher isn’t too keen on using the term immersive sim despite it being one
New Blood publisher Dave Oshry says “immersive sim” is a poor marketing label and that games in the genre may be easier to sell as RPGs. His view matters because it challenges how these games are described to potential players, even as fans continue to debate what defines an immersive sim.
Oshry said he first encountered the term while publishing Gloomwood and working with its lead developer, Dillon Rogers. He already knew games such as System Shock and Deus Ex, but regarded them as RPGs; New Blood also publishes Fallen Aces and ULTRAKILL. The article notes that RPGs can imply features such as character stats that immersive sims may not have.
In short
- Dave Oshry dislikes “immersive sim” as a marketing term.
- He says System Shock and Deus Ex were considered RPGs.
- The article notes that RPG labels can set different expectations.
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The case for
Calling immersive sims RPGs could make them easier for players to recognise and discover, especially when the games share role-playing elements such as player choice and different approaches to problems. System Shock and Deus Ex were understood by some players as RPGs, suggesting the familiar label may communicate more readily than a niche genre term.
The case against
Using RPG as the main label could create expectations of character stats and other conventions that some immersive sims lack, leaving players unsure what they are buying. Keeping “immersive sim” helps fans and developers describe the games’ distinctive design and discuss what belongs in the genre, even if the term is less effective in marketing.
Explained simply
Immersive sims are games built around giving players several ways to tackle situations, often by combining exploration, tools and choices. The label is debated, and games placed in the genre do not all share the same features.
Dave Oshry runs New Blood, a publisher of games including Gloomwood, made by lead developer Dillon Rogers, and Fallen Aces. Oshry says the term “immersive sim” is difficult to use in marketing and suggests that some games in the genre could be described as role-playing games, or RPGs.
System Shock and Deus Ex are often discussed in conversations about immersive sims, though Oshry saw them as RPGs. That distinction matters because RPGs can suggest character statistics and progression systems that some immersive sims may not have, shaping what players expect from a game.