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Obsidian Working on New Fallout, Black Flag Resynced Hits Steam Peak

Jul 9, 2026 · 12d ago

Devastating industry layoffs are forcing dramatic pivots at major Xbox studios, completely reshaping the future of the Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises. Classic games are also finding massive new audiences through record-breaking remakes and surprise PlayStation shadow drops.

Obsidian Entertainment Pivots to New Fallout Game Amid Xbox Layoffs

Obsidian is reportedly making a new Fallout game headed by Josh Sawyer after Microsoft pulled the plug on an Avowed sequel Fallout: New Vegas studio Obsidian reportedly moved onto a new Fallout game by Xbox, but at the cost of a sequel to AvowedPC GamerEurogamer

Following Microsoft's decision to cut 3,200 jobs across Xbox Game Studios, Obsidian Entertainment is shifting its focus to develop a new Fallout game under director Josh Sawyer PC GamerThe Verge. To accommodate this massive shift, the studio has cancelled multiple unannounced projects, including a planned sequel to last year's fantasy RPG Avowed EurogamerIGN.

The restructuring has also severely impacted Bethesda Game Studios, where staff warn that The Elder Scrolls VI will face substantial delays and potential crunch after losing over 50 key employees Push SquareIGN. Morale at the studio has reportedly bottomed out, exacerbated by company HR forcing employees to dismantle a memorial display dedicated to their laid-off colleagues PC GamerPush Square.

Developers at id Software report that the studio has been reduced to a support studio after losing half of its team, effectively killing early pitches for a new Perfect Dark game and a John Wick-style shooter Pure XboxPC GamerPC Gamer. The wider ZeniMax cuts also eliminated over 200 positions at The Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios VGCGame Developer.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Breaks Steam Records at Launch

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Has Already Earned the Series' Biggest Player Peak on SteamReview: Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced: One of the Most Effective Remakes We've Ever SeenIGNDigital Foundry

Ubisoft's ground-up remake Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced has enjoyed a massive launch, reaching a franchise-record peak of 100,000 concurrent players on Steam IGN. Built on the modern Anvil engine, the remake has earned praise from technical analysts for its visual overhaul on current-gen consoles Digital FoundryDigital Foundry. However, the release has also drawn criticism from players due to Ubisoft's decision to add a cash shop and weekly challenges to the single-player pirate adventure PC Gamer.

Former Marathon Director Christopher Barrett Settles Sony Lawsuit

Sony, Bungie settle with ex-Marathon director they accused of "predatory behaviour", bringing $200m wrongful dismissal lawsuit to a closeFormer Marathon Director Added to Game’s Credits in Legal Agreement with Sony and BungieEurogamerThis Week in Video Games

Former Marathon director Christopher Barrett has settled his wrongful dismissal and defamation lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie for an undisclosed sum EurogamerGamesIndustry.biz. Barrett was fired in 2024 following allegations of misconduct, but he subsequently sued both companies, claiming they falsely ruined his reputation to avoid paying out a $50 million bonus This Week in Video GamesRock Paper Shotgun. As part of the legal agreement, Barrett's name has been officially added back to the credits of the upcoming shooter Marathon Game DeveloperThis Week in Video Games.

Call of Duty Black Ops Shadow Drops on PlayStation 5

Black Ops 1 & 2 Now Live On PS5, Here's Some Early Footage Compared To XboxCall of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops II now available for PS5, PS4Pure XboxGematsu

In a surprise release, Activision has shadow-dropped ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops II on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 Pure XboxGematsu. The classic shooters are largely straight ports of the original Xbox 360-era releases, but they have already generated massive player interest on the PlayStation Store Pure Xbox.

Palworld Prepares for 1.0 Release and Warns Modders

Palworld studio says delete your old mods before the 1.0 release: 'Disabling them is not enough' Palworld won't raise its price for 1.0 as 'a small way of saying thank you' PC GamerPC Gamer

Ahead of its highly anticipated 1.0 launch tomorrow, Pocketpair announced that Palworld has officially surpassed 40 million players GamesHub. The developer warned returning players that they must completely delete old mods rather than simply disabling them, as leftover mod files can cause severe issues with the launch build PC GamerRock Paper Shotgun. Pocketpair also confirmed that the game's price will not increase for the full 1.0 release as a thank you to early adopters PC Gamer.