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Obsidian Entertainment Avowed Bethesda Fallout The Outer Worlds The Elder Scrolls Skyrim

Obsidian Is Becoming Bethesda Since Bethesda Stopped Being Bethesda

This article is over 4 years old and may contain outdated information

There isnā€™t a single Bethesda game since Morrowind that I havenā€™t sunk dozens, if not hundreds, of hours into. Thatā€™s a pretty common theme among gamers — the moment the studio releases a new title, vacations days are planned, schedules are cleared, and we lose ourselves in the sprawling worlds filled with detailed backstories, conflicting factions, an unnecessarily large number of collectible items, and the occasional head-scratching bug thatā€™s somehow easier to forgive than youā€™d think it would be.

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Bethesda just makes a certain type of RPG thatā€™s instantly identifiable and strikes a chord with players thatā€™s hard to define. While there are plenty of great (and arguably superior) open-world RPGs out there, thereā€™s no company that really does things like Bethesda.

Well, except for Obsidian Entertainment. Obsidian seems dead set on doing all those things Bethesda does and not really bothering to hide it.

During Thursdayā€™s Xbox Games Showcase, Obsidian Entertainment announced that itā€™s working on the first-person sword and sorcery RPG, Avowed. It takes place in the same world as the companyā€™s Pillars of Eternity series, but upon hearing the announcement, I couldnā€™t help but wonder whether the universe contains any scrolls, particularly of the elder sort.

That might not be a fair assessment, seeing as we know next to nothing about Avowed besides what little can be gleaned from its short reveal. But any first-person RPG will draw some comparisons to the long-running Bethesda series, and if the game happens to be made by Obsidian, itā€™s hard to do anything but assume that it will take significant inspiration from the beloved Elder Scrolls titles.

Ever since Obsidian released Fallout: New Vegas back in 2010, fans have linked the studio with Bethesda, which owns the Fallout franchise. Itā€™s a reputation that isnā€™t entirely fair, since up until that point most of Obsidianā€™s catalogue had consisted of follow-ups to BioWare titles, including Knights of the Old Republic II, Neverwinter Nights 2, and an aborted attempt to create Baldurā€™s Gate III. But then Obsidian released The Outer Worlds, which borrowed the Fallout seriesā€™s role-playing systems and satirical retro-futuristic style. It became clear that Obsidian has taken quite a liking to Bethesdaā€™s specific brand of open-world RPG.

Thatā€™s not just idle speculation, either. Obsidian devs openly welcomed the comparisons to Fallout in press interviews — which isnā€™t surprising, because some of those devs have been part of the Fallout series since before Bethesda even touched the franchise. This connection to pre-Bethesda Fallout was, of course, seen in The Outer Worldsā€™ emphasis on player choice and dialogue options ā€” something that was more than welcome after Fallout 4 pushed those elements to the wayside.

Obsidian Entertainment Avowed Bethesda Fallout The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon The Elder Scrolls Skyrim

But now that Obsidian is working on Avowed, it feels like the companyā€™s doing more than writing love letters to games of the past. Rather, it feels like the studio is wearing Bethesdaā€™s clothes and trying to take over its life, like Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Thatā€™s not a complaint. Somebodyā€™s gotta be Bethesda, and Bethesda certainly hasnā€™t bothered to take up that role lately.

Bethesdaā€™s most-recent single-player RPG is Fallout 4, which came out half a decade ago. Skyrim was released all the way back in 2011. The only information we have about the upcoming sixth chapter in the Elder Scrolls series is a video of some sprawling landscapes paired with some epic music. Its space RPG Starfield, which is apparently further along in development, also has little more than a content-free trailer available to the public eye.

Obsidian Entertainment Avowed Bethesda Fallout The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon The Elder Scrolls Skyrim Fallout 76

Sure, the studio released the multiplayer Fallout 76 in 2018, but that hardly counts as a Fallout game. On release, it didnā€™t even have NPCs, and you can be sure the previous games in the series werenā€™t loved for their combat and crafting systems. The game was subject to poor reviews and less-than-stellar sales numbers. The Outer Worlds, meanwhile, was much better received by critics and fans alike. It’s notable that Bethesda has been quiet aboutĀ Fallout 76‘s total sales, while publisher Take-Two applauded that The Outer Worlds had exceeded expectations and had sold over 2 million copies as of this past February.

With that in mind, I certainly canā€™t blame Obsidian for its apparent desire to take up Bethesdaā€™s abandoned mantle. Itā€™s proven itā€™s more than capable of filling the void left by the prolonged absence of single-player Fallout titles, and I would not be surprised if Avowed proves that itā€™s just as capable of filling in for The Elder Scrolls.

Still, it feels weird to see Obsidian cosplaying as Bethesda, no matter how well it wears the suit.


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Phillip Moyer
Phillip Moyer works at the local news station KSNV-TV, but that's boring, so he also writes about video games whenever he can. His work has also appeared in EGM, TouchArcade, TheGamer, and other outlets.