Todd Howard has dismissed what he described as “fan chatter” about a supposed rivalry between Fallout developers Bethesda Game Studios and Obsidian Entertainment.
The suggestion of animosity between the two studios revolves around the idea that Bethesda resents Obsidian for making the much-loved Fallout: New Vegas, which some consider to be the best Fallout game.
But Howard himself has never suggested this to be the reality of the studios’ relationship, and indeed has outright dismissed it at times. For example, Howard told IGN back in 2019 — after Microsoft had bought Obsidian — that BGS has “always had a great relationship with them” and, on New Vegas, “there’s only one group that we really trust to do this, and it was awesome.”
“For me, it was either this group or nobody,” Howard said.
Fast forward to 2026, in the wake of Xbox’s latest round of layoffs and confirmation that Obsidian is once again working on a new Fallout game, Howard told Windows Central that BGS is “super excited” to be collaborating with the Avowed, The Outer Worlds, Grounded, and Pentiment developer.
“I appreciate some of the fan chatter, but behind the scenes, there’s a huge amount of mutual respect [between Bethesda and Obsidian],” Howard said. “We’re always kind of wondering if we could find a way to work together in the right way. And when those things come up, I think I definitely look at the franchise all up, as you see in the note, everything that’s kind of happening with Fallout.
“You sort of say, is there a way or a window or a pocket where we could do something together that really, really made sense? And so we’re super excited about the opportunity, working together.”
Howard’s mention of “the note” is a reference to the roadmap BGS revealed today. It confirms Fallout 5 had entered pre-production and Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas remasters are in the works. While we now know Obsidian’s Fallout game is real, we don’t know what it is. Could it be Fallout: New Vegas 2? Or perhaps a different Fallout game entirely?
Obsidian was hit by the Xbox layoffs, too, and reportedly canceled Avowed 2 as part of new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s focus on the company’s biggest franchises. That of course includes The Elder Scrolls VI, which is BGS’s focus.
“Fallout is one of our biggest priorities today,” Howard said in his message to fans. “Fallout 5 remains our long-range destination, and we have multiple Fallout projects in active development right now.
“Fallout 76 continues to be home to millions of players exploring Appalachia together. With nearly 70 free updates released to date, the journey is far from over. In fact, we have a major Fallout 76 expansion planned for next year: Raven Rock, a prequel story to Fallout 3.
“Fallout 4, the most award-winning game in the franchise, just celebrated its 10-year anniversary and recently passed over 35 million copies sold, continuing to attract a new audience every year.
“We also know many players want to revisit previous Fallout experiences. While we’re not announcing any dates today, we have been working on remasters for both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.
“Fallout Shelter continues to be the most popular way to experience Fallout on the go, with more than 250 million players. There’s more ahead for Fallout Shelter, including new Seasons. An unscripted Fallout Shelter television project is also in the works with our partners at Amazon Studios and Kilter Films.
“We’d like to congratulate Kilter Films and Amazon Studios on the 10 Emmy nominations for Fallout Season 2. Production on Season 3 is already underway.
“And while we won’t host a traditional Fallout Day broadcast this year, we’re already planning something special for Fallout’s 30th anniversary in 2027, when Fallout Day will be celebrated live in Washington, D.C.”
Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
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