Bethesda has responded to Xbox moving Obsidian Entertainment under its leadership. According to president Jill Braff, the Avowed team will still retain its creative identity despite having to report to her.
Bethesda Says Obsidian Will Retain Its Creative Identity
Microsoft recently surprised players when it revealed that Obsidian Entertainment was going to be moved under Bethesda leadership. Following the Xbox layoffs and restructuring, Bethesda president Jill Braff has responded to the move and issued a memo email to Obsidian employees to address the major changes.
“Today’s announcement is primarily a change in reporting structure. The creative identity and strengths that make Obsidian distinct will remain at the core of their studio and work. Feargus and the Obsidian leadership team will continue to lead Obsidian, with the studio reporting to me. Bethesda Game Studios will continue to lead the Fallout franchise. Together, the teams will build on their longstanding relationship and the early work already underway on a new Fallout project.”
Bethesda also confirmed that Obsidian’s leadership team will continue to run their studio. However, what the closer partnership between the two teams means has not been confirmed at the time of writing. Regardless, Braff says Obsidian Entertainment will still largely be run as it was before; it will now report to her instead.
Bethesda Confirms Early Work on a New Fallout Project
The other big news is that Bethesda confirmed early work is already underway on a new Fallout project. While Xbox technically announced the project back in August, this is the first time Bethesda has directly addressed it. Interestingly, Braff’s letter went out of its way to make clear that Bethesda Game Studios will still lead the Fallout franchise.
However, the statement does not say whether Obsidian is developing its own Fallout game on its own or what role each studio will have in the project. Braff said there would be more to share “in the months ahead,” so we may have to wait a while for those details. Regardless, it sounds like the two studios will be working together in some capacity.
Finally, Braff reaffirmed that the teams’ roadmaps are not being reset and that employees are not being asked to change what they’re working on. That suggests existing projects, including The Elder Scrolls 6, will continue as planned. As for Obsidian, it will be interesting to see what this means for its future games, including the reportedly in-development Avowed sequel.
The post Bethesda Responds to Xbox Moving Obsidian Under Its Leadership appeared first on VICE.
