It turns out we could have had more Obsidian games of Bethesda’s properties, if Bethesda had only said yes.
As reported by Tech4Gamers, former Obsidian head Chris Avellone revealed that he asked about making for spinoff games for Bethesda, for both Fallout and The Elder Scrolls.
This was in a tweet he deleted last year, but funnily enough, today Avellone corroborated this story, and shared more details. As he explained on Twitter:
“This is true. One of the Elder Scrolls proposals (which I pitched) was intended to serve the same function as FNV did between F3 and F4, to provide more adventures in the setting during the years before the next Bethesda release.
I thought it couldn’t hurt to try and push a similar system to what Treyarch/Activision had going with Call of Duty at the time (but hopefully less rushed).
Bethesda could do a core release, then we’d release a TES title (in same world or a divergent timeline/era) before the next big Beths. push.
Probably less relevant now that Elder Scrolls Online is going, but at the time, it seemed to be something that could benefit both studios.
Not surprisingly, it didn’t gain much traction – I never got the impression Beths. was happy with FNV’s reception (good and bad).”
It is true that Fallout New Vegas was considered to be a lesser title in the franchise for some time, at least until Fallout 76 was released. Fans from back in the day would still remember the time when Bethesda’s reputation had such weight behind it that they could turn down working again with Obsidian, which is itself a respected veteran studio in their own right.
It’s certainly strange to think that both companies are now both under Microsoft Gaming’s corporate umbrella. But that’s just the way the industry has been moving in the past few years.
As things stand, Bethesda is currently providing support for Starfield and Fallout 76, aside from producing the upcoming Fallout TV show, and working on The Elder Scrolls 6. Obsidian is set to release Microsoft’s next big original property, Avowed.
As for Chris Avellone, he won a libel suit earlier last year over misconduct allegations. While he dealt with the allegations, he agreed to leave work on Dying Light 2, The Waylanders, and Vampire; The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. He also worked on an earlier version of the 2023 System Shock Remake, but his work did not make it in the final product. He has been a freelancer in the industry since leaving Obsidian in 2015.
