Brandon Adler, a director at Obsidian Entertainment, has voiced his frustration with external commentary regarding the studio's identity following recent layoffs. In a LinkedIn post, Adler described the situation as an "extremely difficult week" where he had to "say goodbye to some amazing developers" and endure what he termed "cold take artists coming out of the woodwork" to "spout off" about Obsidian.
Adler stressed that individuals lacking inside knowledge were spreading "an enormous amount of misinformation" about the studio's current state and its perceived evolution. He asserted that anyone hiring former Obsidian employees would be gaining "some of the best people around - both professionally and personally."
He further elaborated that the leadership and director roles within Obsidian largely remain unchanged, comprising the same individuals who worked on titles such as The Outer Worlds, Pillars of Eternity, and Fallout: New Vegas. "The number of times I've seen people, with no understanding of who has worked on our previous games or what they contributed, talk about how Obsidian isn't who they used to be... is staggering," Adler wrote. He highlighted that the "through line from KotOR2 to our current games is pretty clear," reinforcing the continuity of the studio's core creative direction. While acknowledging that Obsidian, like any entity, is not the same as it was 20 years ago, Adler insisted that its fundamental "DNA" – the same DNA that produced classic titles – remains intact.
Adler's comments come in the wake of significant studio changes. Microsoft's substantial job cuts at Xbox reportedly impacted Obsidian Entertainment, with the studio losing a quarter of its staff. This reduction in workforce was accompanied by a shift in Obsidian's development focus, with Xbox reportedly assigning the studio to work on the Fallout franchise. This new direction has led to the cancellation of multiple projects, including a sequel to the 2025 role-playing game Avowed.