Obsidian Entertainment knows the internet never stops asking for a follow‑up to Fallout: New Vegas. But in interviews this autumn the studio’s leadership made clear that, after years of working on other people’s franchises, Obsidian is relishing the chance to define and expand its own intellectual property.
A prolific 2025 — and it’s all Obsidian originals
This year has been unusually busy for the studio. In 2025 Obsidian shipped three high‑profile projects that are its own creations: Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2 and Grounded 2 (the latter in early access). Those releases follow a string of original projects in recent years — Pentiment, Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny among them — that helped the studio move away from a past defined by licensed work such as Knights of the Old Republic II or Neverwinter Nights 2.
“We know our history prior to Microsoft was really one surrounding around working on others’ IP, and [now] this is the joy that we get of: how do we start to define our own and build our own IP?” Marcus Morgan, Obsidian’s vice‑president of operations, told The Game Business. “And we’ve gotten to the point where we have sequels to all of them — all of them are sequels to the IP we’ve created.”
That moment of creative independence is, he said, a deliberate choice rather than a lamentable break with the past.
Why Obsidian prefers to build its own franchises
The studio’s leaders frame the shift as both artistic and practical. After an acquisition by Microsoft in 2018, Obsidian gained the financial backing to pursue larger projects without relying on external IP owners or crowdfunding. The result, according to vice‑president of development Justin Britch, has been space to follow the studio’s own instincts.
“Xbox has been pretty supportive of the stuff we want to do,” Britch said, signaling that corporate ownership hasn’t forced Obsidian back into licensed work.
Internally, developers have also reassessed what they want to make. Morgan described a learning process while building new triple‑A entries — a balance between ambition and staying true to what makes an "Obsidian" RPG distinct: depth of systems and storytelling rather than attempting to emulate other studios’ approaches to scope and scale.
The New Vegas chorus — and the counterarguments
For many fans New Vegas remains the yardstick for narrative RPGs. The game, released in 2010, retains a passionate following, and the second season of the Fallout TV series — which adapts elements of New Vegas — has only amplified public interest. That combination has renewed calls for a formal New Vegas sequel or a remaster.
Obsidian hears those calls, Morgan acknowledged. “I know everyone on the internet, on every game we ever announce, will constantly [ask]: ‘when’s the next New Vegas?’ or ‘when’s the next whatever’…,” he said.
Still, studio leaders argue that chasing past glories could undermine the chance to build distinctive new worlds. Several outlets also noted that The Outer Worlds carries some “New Vegas‑y vibes,” but the studio appears content to let echoes of its past work surface organically rather than design a direct spiritual successor.
There are small signals that the New Vegas door isn’t sealed forever: the game’s original lead writer returned to Obsidian earlier in 2025, though he clarified he was not working on New Vegas 2. CEO Feargus Urquhart has previously said he’d like “one more crack” at Fallout before retiring — comments that leave space for a future project — but current statements from the studio emphasize present priorities.
Where that leaves fans and the franchise
From Bethesda’s side, the company continues to position big‑budget Fallout sequels as long‑term projects. Todd Howard, head of Bethesda Softworks, has repeatedly warned against rushing the next mainline entry and framed the TV show as a complementary outlet for the franchise. Meanwhile fans and some high‑profile voices have urged remasters or sequels to capitalize on renewed mainstream attention.
Obsidian’s stance is pragmatic: it recognizes fan demand but insists on building its own identity first. The studio’s recent output shows it can produce ambitious, original RPGs at scale — and its leadership argues that growth is best achieved by doing work the team is passionate about, rather than returning to licensed properties because the audience wants it.
Bottom line: not impossible, but not imminent
Obsidian hasn’t closed the door on Fallout or New Vegas explicitly. But after a year that produced multiple original sequels and with Microsoft described as supportive of that direction, the company’s public line is clear: for now, Obsidian will prioritize expanding the universes it created.
Fans of New Vegas may find comfort in tonal callbacks across Obsidian’s catalogue, and the franchise ecosystem (including TV adaptations and occasional remaster rumors) ensures the conversation will continue. Still, if players want more New Vegas from Obsidian, they should prepare for a wait — or hope that the studio’s evolving original IPs scratch the same narrative and mechanical itch.
For more on Obsidian’s work and portfolio, visit the studio’s official site: Obsidian Entertainment.