Bethesda confirms Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters, makes Obsidian collaboration official, and says Fallout 5 is in 'pre-production'

Less than two weeks out from massive Xbox layoffs that will put 3,200 people out of work, Bethesda Softworks has laid out its plans for the future, including confirmation of a new Fallout game from Obsidian and that remasters of both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are happening.

The full message covers pretty much everything Bethesda does, including a confirmation that Starfield, despite a middling reception and flagging player numbers, will continue to receive updates. There's also a nod to "more planned for the future" for The Elder Scrolls Online, even though the game and the studio making it both look pretty rocky right now.

But Fallout is the focus, and there is a lot going on. "Fallout is one of our biggest priorities today," Bethesda wrote. "Fallout 5 remains our long-range destination, and we have multiple Fallout projects in active development right now."

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(Image credit: Bethesda Softworks)

Included among those projects is a Fallout 76 expansion scheduled for 2027 called Raven Rock, which will serve as a prequel to Fallout 3, and as mentioned, the Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters—no dates were revealed, but simple confirmation that they're both in development is long overdue.

The previously reported Obsidian collaboration is also confirmed in the announcement, and to my reading at least, it sounds like it will be another non-numbered entry to the series, as New Vegas was. Following the mention of Fallout 5, Bethesda seemed to reference the Obsidian game as an entirely separate thing: "The wasteland continues to expand as we team up once again with our longtime friends at Obsidian Entertainment. We're happy to confirm they're working with us on a new Fallout project. We'll have more to share in the future."

(Image credit: Bethesda Softworks)

It also sounds like Fallout 5 is much further out than the Obsidian joint: Bethesda said that game is currently in pre-production, while the majority of the studio is focused on The Elder Scrolls 6. There's still no date on that either, although Bethesda at least acknowledged that "we know it’s been a very long wait for the sequel."

While the layoffs aren't referenced directly, Bethesda said it will be "bringing our teams closer together so we can get our games into your hands sooner," although to me it sounds more like a straightforward consolidation of studios that were hit hard by layoffs: "ZeniMax Online Studios will partner closely with Bethesda Game Studios on The Elder Scrolls franchise, while continuing to deliver incredible new experiences for The Elder Scrolls Online."

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All told, it's quite the infodump, despite being short on specifics, and clearly aimed at reassuring fans that the wounds suffered by Bethesda in the Xbox cuts are not mortal, or even seriously damaging—beyond the hundreds of people who find themselves out of work, that is. How it all actually works out, we'll just have to wait and see.