Obsidian Cancels Avowed 2, Pivots to New Fallout RPG Led by New Vegas Director

The cancellation erases Obsidian’s immediate post-Avowed roadmap and places the studio back into the Fallout orbit it first entered fifteen years ago. Where Avowed channeled Obsidian’s expertise into a first-person fantasy action RPG, the new project reunites Fallout: New Vegas director Josh Sawyer with the franchise, signaling a shift away from the sequel’s expected trajectory and toward a systems-heavy RPG framework.

For players waiting on Avowed 2, the implications are straightforward: the sequel is no longer in active development and should be treated as shelved indefinitely. Whatever pre-production or early progress existed has been wound down, and no replacement timeline has emerged. Instead of a follow-up that might have surfaced within the next few years, Obsidian is now staffing around an unannounced Fallout title built in collaboration with Bethesda.

Sawyer’s involvement carries specific design weight. His track record points toward dense roleplay mechanics, faction-driven narrative pacing, and deep character-build systems rather than streamlined action loops. That creative identity suggests an emphasis on dialogue trees, consequential choices, and slower-burn worldbuilding over the faster combat cadence seen in more recent entries. No release window or platform details beyond Xbox and PC have been confirmed.

The pivot arrives alongside broader Xbox restructuring that has hit Obsidian with layoffs affecting roughly a quarter of its staff. With fewer resources and a single flagship direction, the studio’s output will be narrower. Players should not expect tangible reveals soon; the next meaningful update will likely be a formal announcement of the Fallout project itself. Until then, watch for job listings, studio leadership statements, and any Bethesda portfolio roadmaps that signal where this title sits relative to The Elder Scrolls VI and other in-house RPGs.