A new report claims that Obsidian Entertainment wanted to work on a new Fallout game in the past, but Bethesda stopped it from moving forward. If true, Xbox may now be reviving a project that was previously rejected.
Chris Avellone Claims Bethesda Rejected Obsidian’s Fallout Game
This latest rumor comes from former Obsidian Entertainment co-founder Chris Avellone, who made the claim in a recent post on X. According to Avellone, Obsidian had previously pitched a Fallout game to Xbox. However, Bethesda intervened and axed it. The project was reportedly led by Fallout: New Vegas director Josh Sawyer.
“From what I heard, that was intended to be a Fallout game. But according to sources, Bethesda put the kibosh on that a while ago, so it had to change its direction/tone from Fallout to something “similar” to Fallout.” Interestingly, this closely lines up with a recent report from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier. “Previously, Sawyer had been directing a roleplaying game that was similar structurally and thematically to Fallout but was not part of the franchise.”
If Avellone’s sources are correct, then Sawyer’s project originally began as a Fallout game, but had its direction changed after Bethesda rejected the idea. Although it should be pointed out that Schreier’s report does not confirm Avellone’s claims, and instead describes it as “similar” to Fallout but not actually apart of the franchise. While neither Avellone nor Schreier explicitly connect the two projects, the timing has led fans to speculate they could be referring to the same game.
Could Xbox Be Reviving Obsidian’s Scrapped Fallout Game?
A new report from Bloomberg also confirmed that Obsidian is now working on a Fallout game, and that Avowed 2 has been cancelled. “Under the new plan, studio design director Josh Sawyer will lead a new title in the Fallout universe.” The announcement led some fans to speculate whether this is a brand-new game started from scratch or Sawyer’s previous project reworked.
“So wait, Sawyer started on a Fallout game, Bethesda pulled the plug, so he reworked it to not be Fallout, and now they Xbox wants him to make Fallout again?” a fan on X wrote, for example. If Avellone’s claims are accurate, then it’s possible Obsidian’s newly announced Fallout game is actually the same project that Bethesda rejected years ago. If so, it would mean the title has already undergone multiple direction changes before officially entering development again.
Regardless, it sounds like Xbox wanted Obsidian working on a Fallout project years ago, but the project just couldn’t get off the ground. If Chris Avellone is to be believed, Bethesda initially didn’t want the Fallout: New Vegas team working on another game in the series. Following the recent Xbox layoffs, however, it appears Microsoft has now intervened, and Obsidian’s next priority is a While neither Avellone nor Schreier explicitly connect the two projects, the timing has led fans to speculate they could be referring to the same game.game.
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