Obsidian Entertainment is making a big creative change as part of a sweeping Xbox “reset” focused on prioritizing the company’s core intellectual properties. Recent reports claim that id Software, the creators of Doom and Wolfenstein, lost half of their team in Microsoft’s latest layoffs. Now, Obsidian Entertainment is shifting its development resources to a brand-new entry in the Fallout franchise, a move that comes at the cost of canceling multiple projects, including a planned sequel to its recent fantasy RPG, Avowed.
According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, the corporate mandate coincides with a devastating downsizing at the studio. Reporting from Kotaku reveals that the latest round of corporate layoffs eliminated roughly 25% of Obsidian’s overall workforce, reshaping the team’s entire upcoming production slate.
The return of a fan-favorite director
Before the corporate intervention, development on Avowed 2 was reportedly progressing smoothly behind closed doors, with an official announcement originally tracking for sometime next year. Now, those plans are entirely off the table, alongside several other unannounced projects.
Instead, the downsized team will redirect its focus toward the post-apocalyptic universe of Fallout. The definitive relationship between this project and Bethesda’s highly anticipated Fallout 5 remains under wraps. Still, the creative leadership behind the game is already generating significant buzz. Josh Sawyer, Obsidian’s studio design director, will reportedly helm the project.
Sawyer is a legendary figure among RPG enthusiasts. He previously served as the director for 2010’s Fallout: New Vegas—a title that remains a beloved high-water mark for the franchise. Interestingly, Schreier’s reporting notes that Sawyer had recently been working on an unannounced original project that was structurally and thematically reminiscent of Fallout, though it was completely disconnected from the actual IP. It remains unclear whether that original concept is being adapted into this official franchise release.
Navigating corporate priorities
The sudden strategy shift aligns with updated messaging from Xbox leadership and Bethesda president Jill Braff. Both have stressed that tentpole franchises need to be the absolute priority moving forward. Despite the massive cultural success of the live-action Fallout television series, Microsoft hasn’t released a mainline game in the series since 2018’s Fallout 76.
While the corporate mandate forces a massive shift in priorities, Obsidian is not abandoning its other commitments entirely. The studio still intends to fulfill its existing obligations, including development on the early access project Grounded 2 and upcoming downloadable content for The Outer Worlds 2. Plus, some staff members are reportedly maintaining minimal work on the remains of Avowed 2 in the quiet hope that the project might eventually see a revival.
The post Microsoft Forces Obsidian into a Fallout Pivot After Canceling Avowed 2 appeared first on Android Headlines.
