Todd Howard Addresses “Fan Chatter” About Bethesda-Obsidian Rivalry Conspiracies

Bethesda boss Todd Howard has addressed rumors of a rivalry between Bethesda Game Studios and Obsidian, saying the online discourse does not reflect reality. He told Windows Central, "I appreciate some of the fan chatter, but behind the scenes, there's a huge amount of mutual respect [between Bethesda and Obsidian]." Obsidian developed 2010's Fallout: New Vegas, which was a much-loved entry in the series. The studio is now working on a new Fallout game, though we still don't know exactly what it is. New Vegas developer Obsidian is making a new Fallout game. A baseless online myth cropped up suggesting that Howard was annoyed or upset with the success of New Vegas. Over the years, Howard spoke multiple times about how much he enjoyed New Vegas and working with Obsidian, including a 2018 interview with The Guardian in which Howard said Obsidian "did a fabulous job" with New Vegas. In the new interview with Windows Central, Howard said Bethesda was "always" trying to find a way work with Obsidian again "in the right way." It's now happening, with Obsidian developing a new Fallout game. Obsidian was among the Xbox studios impacted by Microsoft's latest round of cuts. Obsidian was said to be hit particularly hard, with 25% of staff let go. In other Fallout news, Bethesda has confirmed that Fallout 5 is in pre-production and that remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are coming. Additionally, a prequel story to Fallout 3 is coming to Fallout 76.