Alpha Protocol

Alpha Protocol is a 2010 action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Sega. The player assumes control of agent Michael Thorton, a new recruit at a clandestine United States agency called Alpha Protocol, which is given unlimited resources to conduct covert operations on behalf of the government. Thorton becomes a rogue agent and must unravel an international conspiracy to stop a war. Throughout the game, players must make many choices that affect the narrative. Played from a third-person perspective, players can confront enemies using firearms, gadgets, martial arts and stealth. The game features extensive customization and a dialogue stance system that allows players to select dialogues based on three different tones.

The game's development began in March 2006 after publisher Sega approached Obsidian for a new intellectual property role-playing game. While Obsidian co-founders Feargus Urquhart and Chris Jones came up with the concept of an "espionage RPG", no one was assigned to lead the project until early 2008. The project was mostly inspired by iconic spy characters such as Jason Bourne, James Bond and Jack Bauer, and by films including Syriana, Ronin and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Sega also participated in the game's development, supporting the plot rewrite by Chris Avellone, and sending quality assurance and cohesion strike teams to ensure there were no plot holes.

Alpha Protocol was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in May 2010. The game received polarized reviews upon release. Critics praised the game's setting, customization and reactivity, but criticized its gameplay, story, graphics and presentation; it was generally considered to be ambitious but executed many concepts poorly. Retrospectively, the game's reputation improved and it gained a cult following. Despite Obsidian's desire to develop a sequel, intellectual property owner Sega was not satisfied with the game's financial performance and no sequel is planned. All sales of Alpha Protocol were halted in June 2019 due to expired music licenses. Sales on GOG.com resumed on March 20, 2024.