After Obsidian Entertainment’s latest games failed to achieve the success they’d hoped for, the studio is now cutting many jobs. In the wake of this, a lead developer is pushing back against a certain type of criticism.
The layoffs and restructuring at Xbox have shaken up the video game world. One of the studios affected is Obsidian Entertainment, the developers ofPillars of Eternity,Fallout: New Vegas,andThe Outer Worlds.
The studio’s most recent games were for Microsoftnot the financial successes they had hoped for. This is likely one of the reasons why jobs are now being cut anda long-standing narrative appears to be gaining momentum again (on Reddit): Obsidian is simply not the same studio it used to be; too many veterans have left the studio in the meantime. Brandon Adler, the game director ofThe Outer Worlds 2, is now pushing back against this claim.
The DNA is the same
Adler is a longtime employee of Obsidian Entertainment who, with a brief hiatus, has been working on the studio’s games since 2006.On LinkedIn, he first explains that the past weekhad been extremely difficult
:
Not only did I have to say goodbye to some great game developers, but also to some of my best friends.
But it’s also hard to watch as some people spread so-calledhot takes
about Obsidian:
It’s unbelievable how often I see people talking about how Obsidian isn’t what it used to be, while they have no idea who worked on our earlier games or what they contributed. Most of the time, they’re not only off the mark, but they’re also spreading a lot of misinformation.
In fact, according to Adler, Obsidian hasn’t changed that much at all. For the most part, the leadership positions are still held by the same people who worked on Pillars of Eternity or New Vegas:
The common thread running from Knights of the Old Republic 2 to our current games is quite clear. Is Obsidian the same [studio] as it was 20 years ago? No, of course not. But Obsidian’s DNA is the same as it’s always been. The same DNA that created KotOR, New Vegas, Neverwinter Nights 2, and The Staff of Truth.
Discussions surrounding Obsidian are naturally heating up right now because the studio is apparently working on a new Fallout game. Many fans are therefore wondering whether the studio behind one of the best Fallout games can land another hit.
In addition to Adler’s statements, there are a few other exciting personnel developments to note: In 2025, John Gonzalez returned to Obsidian—at the time, explicitlynot for a New Vegas 2
. Gonzalez was primarily responsible for the story of New Vegas and could now be working on Fallout again. That same year, Tim Kain—one of the creators of Fallout—was also rehired by Obsidian.
Most recently, Josh Sawyer is also said to be serving as lead developer on the next Obsidian Fallout game. Sawyer was already the lead developer on New Vegas and worked on the canceled third Fallout game, codenamed Van Buren
. So, at least when it comes to Fallout, Obsidian can boast of having some of the most important minds under one roof.
