Obsidian Knows We Want New Vegas 2 — But It’s Building Its Own Worlds Instead

As someone who still quotes Mr. House like he’s a real politician, I get why “New Vegas 2 when?” never dies. But Obsidian just made something pretty clear: the studio’s priority is growing its own worlds, not jumping back into someone else’s. In a new interview, VP of operations Marcus Morgan said the team finds “joy” in defining an “Obsidian identity” and shipping sequels to IP they created-rather than returning to external franchises like Fallout.

• Obsidian says it’s focused on nurturing its own IP, not chasing another studio’s brand.
• The studio is celebrating a year of shipping multiple projects born in-house.
• Fans still shouting for New Vegas 2 shouldn’t lose hope-but it’s clearly not the plan.
• This move could mean more consistent, creatively unified RPGs from Obsidian.

Breaking Down What Obsidian Actually Said

“I know everyone on the internet, on every game we ever announce, will constantly ask: ‘when’s the next New Vegas?’” Morgan said. “But this year… all three of those games are IP that we’ve created, that are Obsidian IP. We know our history prior to Microsoft was one surrounding working on others’ IP, and now this is the joy we get from: how do we start to define our own and build our own IP?”

That’s the heart of it. Obsidian isn’t teasing a surprise Fallout handoff-it’s drawing a line. The studio’s slate is packed with projects that either start or continue worlds it controls. The chatter mentions Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2, and talk around a follow-up to Grounded. The specifics and labels matter less than the philosophy: a studio that once built its rep elevating other people’s universes now wants to be known primarily for its own.

Why This Matters Now

Context is everything. Obsidian’s history is a highlight reel of licensed work: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout: New Vegas, South Park: The Stick of Truth. Those games proved Obsidian could spin gold out of borrowed thread. But the cost was creative compromise and dependency on another publisher’s roadmap. Since joining Xbox, Obsidian’s momentum on original worlds—Pillars of Eternity, Grounded, Pentiment, and The Outer Worlds—has reshaped the studio’s trajectory.

For players, the upside is obvious: more cohesive vision and fewer licensing handcuffs. When Obsidian owns the sandbox, it can iterate on systems and stories without legal headaches. Want deeper faction interplay like New Vegas? Morally messy questlines like Pentiment? Choice-driven builds like Pillars? That stuff is easier when you control the lore bible and the sequel rights. If The Outer Worlds 2 lands the way it should, we’re talking about a proper long-running RPG series with identity—the kind you measure in playthroughs, not patches.

The Gamer’s Perspective: Excitement With a Side of Skepticism

I’m hyped for an Obsidian that doubles down on what it does best: reactive storytelling, systemic RPG design, and quests with consequences. Avowed aiming to bring the Pillars ethos into first-person was always a smart swing. The Outer Worlds 2 has the chance to fix the first game’s pacing and expand its role-playing depth beyond corporate satire and perk tinkering. And if a Grounded sequel is real, there’s a rich survival sandbox begging for better late-game systems and co-op progression.

But let’s not pretend there aren’t trade-offs. The odds of New Vegas 2 shrink when Obsidian publicly plants its flag in “our worlds first.” Sure, Microsoft owns both Bethesda and Obsidian, so a crossover isn’t impossible. It’s just not the priority. Also, “three sequels this year” language raises eyebrows. Avowed, for instance, isn’t a sequel in the traditional sense even if it shares Eora with Pillars. And Obsidian hasn’t formally detailed a “Grounded 2.” If Morgan’s framing is a vibes-forward celebration rather than a literal slate reveal, cool—just don’t read it as a stealth announcement.

Another point worth watching: Obsidian’s ambition versus bandwidth. The studio’s recent track record is strong, but when it has rushed to ship in the past (Alpha Protocol, New Vegas at launch), it paid the price with bugs and balance issues. The Xbox era has seemingly given Obsidian more runway. Let’s hope that continues, because choice-heavy RPGs need time to marinate, test, and react to player chaos without collapsing into quest-breaking spaghetti.

Reading Between the Lines

Obsidian’s “Obsidian identity” line isn’t just PR fluff. The studio clearly wants to be in that BioWare-in-its-prime lane: a name that means something beyond a single license. It’s how FromSoftware turned “Soulslike” into a genre descriptor and how Larian suddenly became shorthand for “RPGs that respect your choices.” If Obsidian can chain together a few hits in its own universes, the long-tail benefits—modding communities, sequel momentum, cross-media potential—belong to them, not a licensor.

And here’s the upside for New Vegas diehards: the DNA you loved—political factions, impossible dilemmas, builds that actually matter—doesn’t require the Fallout logo. If Obsidian keeps pushing those systems forward in its own series, we might finally stop asking for New Vegas 2 not because we stopped loving it, but because we won’t need it.

TL;DR

Obsidian hears the endless New Vegas 2 chants, but it’s choosing to grow its own worlds instead. That’s good news for long-term, choice-driven RPGs with a consistent creative vision—even if it makes a return to Fallout less likely in the near term. Watch how The Outer Worlds 2 and the studio’s other in-house projects land; that will define the “Obsidian identity” more than any borrowed apocalypse ever could.

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