Obsidian's Fallout game gets Josh Sawyer confirmed as director, Bethesda also announces Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters

Bethesda has officially confirmed that Obsidian Entertainment is working on a new Fallout game, and Bloomberg reporting identifies Josh Sawyer — director of Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity — as the man leading it. Bethesda also confirmed remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are in development, and that Fallout 5 is in pre-production while most of the studio remains focused on The Elder Scrolls 6.

Bethesda's statement frames the Obsidian project as a separate, non-numbered entry — much like New Vegas was to Fallout 3 — with the company saying only that "we'll have more to share in the future." Fallout 76 is also getting a major expansion called Raven Rock, scheduled for 2027, which will serve as a prequel to Fallout 3. No release dates were given for the remasters. Todd Howard, speaking to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, described Bethesda as looking for the right "pocket-timing" for the franchise — treating the Prime Video TV series, mobile games, remasters, and new entries as chapters in a single ongoing story rather than a gap between sequels.

Sawyer, meanwhile, gave an interview to The Examined Game that offers a strong hint at what his Fallout game might feel like. He argued that RPGs are at their best when players "can control a lot" but "can't control everything" — a design philosophy he's applied across his career with varying results. He pointed to Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, where the god-like antagonist Eothas cannot be stopped or defeated; players can only limit the damage he causes. Some players appreciated that constraint, others found it jarring after years of RPGs conditioning them to believe the protagonist can always win. He also cited Pentiment, where players must accuse someone of murder without ever being able to definitively solve the crime — forcing them to interrogate their own values rather than find a clean answer. "So many problems are just human problems," Sawyer said. "Even in a fantastic world, there are still going to be powers that are beyond you."

The announcement lands in a complicated moment for Bethesda — the studio just went through massive Xbox layoffs affecting 3,200 people, and the statement reads partly as reassurance that the franchise is still in good health. Whether Sawyer's design instincts translate well to the Fallout setting, which has its own deeply conditioned player expectations, is the question fans are already debating. No release window for the Obsidian Fallout game has been given.