Obsidian Reportedly Cancels Avowed 2 to Focus on a New Fallout Game

Obsidian Entertainment has reportedly canceled plans for a sequel to Avowed and other unannounced projects to concentrate on a new Fallout game, according to Bloomberg. The project will be led by Josh Sawyer, who was previously working on a different RPG with similarities to Fallout. Sawyer served as lead designer and project director on Fallout: New Vegas, a fan-favorite entry in the series. Bethesda, which has overseen the Fallout franchise for nearly two decades, will collaborate with Obsidian on this new title.

A small team will continue work on Avowed 2 with hopes of reviving it later. This news comes amid Xbox's major restructuring, which has resulted in thousands of layoffs and Microsoft parting ways with some first-party studios like Undead Labs. Bloomberg reports that a quarter of Obsidian's staff were also laid off.

Despite the layoffs, the prospect of a new Fallout game from Obsidian is exciting for many fans. Fallout: New Vegas remains a beloved entry, and the franchise hasn't seen a new mainline single-player game in over a decade. Fallout 4 launched in 2015, followed by the MMO-style Fallout 76 a few years later. The live-action Fallout TV series on Prime Video has been critically acclaimed and highly viewed, further fueling demand for a new single-player Fallout game. With Bethesda focused on The Elder Scrolls 6 for the foreseeable future, a new Fallout from that team is likely years away. Earlier this week, it was reported that Bethesda would prioritize its biggest franchises, and this move seems to align with that strategy.