Bloomberg has reported that Obsidian Entertainment, the studio behind the acclaimed Fallout: New Vegas, is set to begin work on a new Fallout game directed by New Vegas veteran Josh Sawyer. The shift matters because it marks Obsidian's return to a series many fans have long hoped they would revisit, but it comes at a considerable cost: a planned sequel to Avowed and other unannounced projects have reportedly been scrapped to make way for it.

The pivot follows Microsoft's latest round of mass layoffs, which cut around 1,600 jobs across the Xbox division and roughly a quarter of Obsidian's workforce. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has reportedly directed studios to concentrate on established, high-earning franchises. Sawyer had previously been leading an RPG described as "structurally and thematically" similar to Fallout without actually being one, while some staff are said to continue on the Avowed sequel in the hope it may one day be revived. The author expresses deep unease that a game he long wanted is arriving under such grim circumstances.