Obsidian cancels Avowed 2 to make a new Fallout game led by Josh Sawyer

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Obsidian Entertainment is reportedly pulling the plug on a sequel to Avowed in favor of a new Fallout game.

Bloomberg reports that Obsidian has scrapped plans for Avowed 2 and other unannounced projects to focus on a new Fallout game, led by Josh Sawyer. Sawyer was reportedly working on a different RPG that was structurally similar to Fallout prior to this. He also served as lead designer and project director on Fallout: New Vegas, one of the most beloved games in the franchise. Bethesda, the studio that has overseen the Fallout franchise for nearly two decades, will work with Obsidian on the project.

A small group of staff will continue to work on Avowed 2 with the hopes of reviving the project later down the line. The news comes as part of Xbox's big reset , which has resulted in thousands of layoffs, in addition to Microsoft parting ways with a handful of first-party teams such as Undead Labs . Bloomberg reports that a quarter of Obsidian was laid off as well.

The news of a new Fallout from Obsidian is likely very exciting to fans, however. Fallout: New Vegas is a fan-favorite entry in the franchise and the IP hasn't had a new mainline, single-player game in over a decade. Fallout 4 was released in 2015 and a few years later, we got Fallout 76, an MMO-style game set in the post-apocalyptic universe. A live-action Fallout TV series has also been ongoing on Prime Video, garnering critical praise and high viewership.

Still, the TV series has only made people crave a new single-player Fallout game and with Bethesda working on The Elder Scrolls 6 for the foreseeable future , a new Fallout game from that team is likely almost a decade away. It was reported earlier this week that Bethesda would be focusing more on its biggest franchises , and this move appears to be a sign of that.

Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.