Obsidian Entertainment is switching up its priorities, as the studio has reportedly pulled the plug on its Avowed RPG sequel to focus on releasing the next Fallout game.
As reported by Bloomberg, Microsoft has shifted Obsidian away from its planned sequel, instead redirecting the studio to push a new Fallout title as part of Xbox’s broader restructuring effort. Josh Sawyer, who served as lead designer and project director on 2010’s Fallout: New Vegas, will be attached to the new game, with Bloomberg’s sources adding that Sawyer had previously been leading development on an original RPG with similar themes to Fallout, and that this planned project has been replaced by an official new title in the franchise. Bethesda will also continue to work on the franchise alongside Obsidian.
While the loss of an Avowed sequel might come as a blow for those looking to step into the universe of the Pillars of Eternity games once more, the Fallout franchise undoubtedly has more pull in the industry, and fans have been yearning for the next mainline single-player title for over a decade since 2015’s Fallout 4, and having Sawyer on its development team once more is even more promising considering Fallout: New Vegas was the fan-favorite in the series.
This news comes as part of a major Xbox reset, which saw multiple studios, notably Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions, leaving Microsoft for new management, resulting in thousands of layoffs. Obsidian was also caught in the aftermath, with roughly a quarter of its team being laid off, although specifically for the now-scrapped Avowed 2, a small team of developers will still continue to work on the title with the hopes of it being revived down the line.
Fans looking forward to the next Fallout title might be in for a long wait, however, as Bethesda is currently hard at work on another much-anticipated title, The Elder Scrolls VI.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Si Jia
