Obsidian’s new Fallout project is an officially confirmed collaboration with Bethesda, separate from the mainline Fallout 5.
Official status
On July 17, 2026, Bethesda Game Studios stated in a studio update:
“The wasteland continues to expand as we team up once again with our longtime friends at Obsidian Entertainment.
We’re happy to confirm they’re working with us on a new Fallout project. We’ll have more to share in the future.”
This confirmed earlier reporting and positioned the game as a distinct entry (widely viewed as a spin-off or side project in the spirit of Fallout: New Vegas) rather than the numbered Fallout 5, which Bethesda said is in pre-production at their own studio.
How it came about
- July 8, 2026 Bloomberg report (Jason Schreier): As part of Xbox’s broader restructuring and layoffs, Obsidian canceled multiple projects—including a planned Avowed sequel—and shifted focus to a new Fallout game. Roughly a quarter of the studio’s staff was laid off.
- The project is described as being led by Josh Sawyer, the director and lead designer of Fallout: New Vegas.
Key people involved
- Josh Sawyer — Reportedly heading the project. He has previously said he would be open to directing another Fallout game if the creative boundaries allowed him to explore new ideas.
- Tim Cain — Co-creator of the original Fallout. He returned to Obsidian full-time (in-person) in December 2025 after a period of semi-retirement/contract work. He is at the studio while this project is underway, though his exact role on it has not been specified.
- Other longtime Obsidian talent with Fallout history (such as Leonard Boyarsky) are frequently mentioned by fans and commentators as being present at the studio.
What is known (and not known)
Very little concrete information has been released:
- It is a collaboration between Obsidian and Bethesda.
- It is early in development.
- No title, setting, release window, engine, or gameplay details have been announced.
- Reporting has noted that Obsidian had previously incubated a post-apocalyptic prototype that was described as “very Fallout-y,” with internal discussion about whether it should use Unreal or Creation Engine.
- Todd Howard has spoken positively about mutual respect between the studios and the opportunity to work together when the timing and conditions made sense.
Bethesda has framed it as expanding the wasteland alongside their other Fallout efforts (Fallout 76 content, the Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters, and the longer-term Fallout 5).
Context and fan reaction
This is the first time since New Vegas (2010) that Obsidian has been confirmed to work on a Fallout game.
Excitement is high among fans specifically because of Sawyer’s involvement and the studio’s track record with reactive writing, faction systems, and player choice.
At the same time, the project launched amid significant layoffs and canceled internal work, so the development environment is different from previous Obsidian RPGs.
As of late July 2026, the project remains in the early stages with no further public details. Bethesda and Obsidian have indicated more information will come later.
