Obsidian game director Brandon Adler has slammed what he described as a “massive amount of misinformation” about the studio that surfaced online after reports the developer was working on another one. result the game He took particular issue with vocal fan skepticism over whether Obsidian could do justice to the project, which many developers had worked on to its stature. result The spin-off is no longer in the studio.
Microsoft's troubled gaming business announced another major restructuring on July 6, when Xbox CEO Asha Sharma confirmed plans to cut about 3,200 jobs, or about 20% of the division's workforce. The company has already identified and notified half of the affected employees, while the remaining layoffs are expected by the end of June 2027, the end of Microsoft's current fiscal year. The large-scale restructuring affected Xbox Studios of all sizes, including Obsidian, which lost about a quarter of its 220-person workforce. Microsoft said the cuts would not lead to the cancellation of any previously disclosed first-party projects. As for the rest, Bloomberg's Jason Schrier reported that several unannounced Obsidian games were shelved during the restructuring, with a significant portion of the studio being put to work on the new game. result the game
Obsidian director dismisses fan skepticism over new Fallout game
In a July 11 LinkedIn post, Obsidian game director Brandon Adler bid farewell to dozens of colleagues who lost their jobs in the latest wave of Xbox layoffs. “It's been a very difficult week at Obsidian,” Adler wrote before addressing “another difficult aspect”: online criticism of the studio that he saw as completely unfair. Adler expressed particular frustration with the claim that Obsidian no longer has the talent to produce great games because most Fallout: New Vegas The creative team has left the studio. “The number of times I've seen people with no understanding of who worked on our previous games or what they contributed, talk about how Obsidian isn't what they used to be…is amazing,” he wrote.
Adler says the studio's 'DNA' hasn't changed, even if there aren't many new Vegas devs left
Adler said that even after the recent layoffs, most of Obsidian's senior creative roles are filled by veterans. Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, The Outer Worldsand other acclaimed RPGs. Acknowledging that no company remains unchanged over two decades, he maintained that Obsidian's creative “DNA” remains the same, categorically dismissing any online speculation that it comes from unwitting “cold tech artists.”
As many times as I've seen people who have no idea who worked on our previous games or what they contributed, talk about how Obsidian isn't what they used to be…amazing. Most of the time they are not only wrong, but spread massive amounts of misinformation
Although Adler's decision to address Obsidian's critics highlights how vocal they have been in recent days, they do not represent the majority of players. Many longtime fans have expressed strong excitement about the prospect of another Obsidian-developed. result The alleged existence of the project leaked online on July 8.
Adler's argument is broadly consistent with Obsidian's output in the post-Ma.New Vegas era From the fan-favorite, Mojave-set result Since its launch in 2010, the studio has released more than half a dozen well-known RPGs, including South Park: The Stick of Truth, tyranny, Groundedand Pentiment. Although its two 2025 titles, Accepted and The outside world 2Holding only “mostly positive” user ratings on Steam until mid-2026, both scored in the low 80s on OpenCritic and have been nominated for several major awards, as well as winning some minor honors. Obsidian's quality floor still seems to exceed the ceiling of most medium-sized studios.
Naturally, that record doesn't guarantee it's a rumor result The project will be successful, but it provides few grounds for confidence. The possibility is further strengthened by the presence of result Producer Tim Kane, who currently works at Obsidian. Kane came out of retirement to contribute to an unannounced project in late 2025, raising the possibility that he could work again on the post-apocalyptic series he helped create.
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October 19, 2010
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and gore, intense violence, sexual content, strong language, drug use
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Gamebrio

Image via Bethesda