Today, Bethesda offered an update on his studio, following Xbox’s brutal cuts to its gaming business.
Microsoft is laying off thousands of gaming employees and contractors across its gaming operationhow to bet on Xbox Game Pass, Obligationsand cross-platform games were not successful. To that end, many fans are concerned that the future is bleak for games like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, as ZeniMax seemed to be disproportionately targeted by management.
In a note shared by Bethesda today, The firm not only confirmed that The Elder Scrolls VI is progressing very well, but also that Starfield and Fallout will continue to be developed. Not only that, but Fallout 5 is now in pre-production, and Fallout 3 and New Vegas will get Oblivion-style remakes, confirming my previous report.
Fans will also be excited to know that Obsidian’s long-rumored Fallout project has now been greenlit and is being developed in collaboration with Bethesda.
“The wasteland continues to expand as we unite once again with our long-time friends at Obsidian Entertainment.” Bethesda commented. “We are happy to confirm that they are working with us on a new Fallout project. We will have more to share in the future.”
Details about the Obsidian Fallout project have been rumored for some time. In my own research, I discovered that Obsidian had been building a prototype for two years, waiting to collaborate with Bethesda. With Xbox CEO Asha Sharma signaling his intention to speed up production on Fallout titles, it seemed increasingly inevitable that more spin-off projects like New Vegas and 76 would emerge.
I caught up with Todd Howard in an exclusive interview yesterday to learn more about the plans and talk about the “mythology” that fans often curate around some sort of rivalry between Obsidian and Bethesda.
“I appreciate some of the fan chatter, but behind the scenes, there’s a lot of mutual respect (between us). We always wondered if we could find a way to work together in the right way. And when those things come up, I think I definitely look at the entire franchise, as seen in the note, everything that’s happening with Fallout.”
“You say, is there a way, a window or a pocket where we can do something together that really makes sense? And so we’re very excited about the opportunity to work together.”
I asked about the possibility of other spin-offs, since on Xbox you now have Fallout legends like Tim Cain and InXile’s Brian Fargo all under one roof. Could we see a return to an isometric Fallout-style tactical CRPG, given the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 more recently? Todd Howard’s response, “never say never.”
“Sometimes you find your way and sometimes you don’t, or you do it later. It takes time. You mentioned the Fallout show. And that was a 10-year journey. As the caretaker of these things, job number one is to make sure we serve the franchise as best we can.”
Todd Howard couldn’t give us more details on what Obsidian’s Fallout would look like, as it’s still early. I’ve been investigating rumors that it would be built in Unreal Engine, although given Bethesda’s focus on growing Creation Club, perhaps that could change. I asked if it would be cross-platform or Xbox exclusive on console, but Todd Howard again said they’ll announce those things “when the time is right.”
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your ideas and discuss our latest news, reviews and more.
