The role-playing game experts at Obsidian would have loved to create a spin-off to The Elder Scrolls, but we’ll never see the result
The role-playing games from Obsidian are usually considered a pretty safe bet for genre fans. Whether Neverwinter Nights 2, Knights of the Old Republic 2, Pillars of Eternity or Fallout: New Vegas – role-playing gamers can rub their hands in anticipation when it comes to Obsidian titles. And if the threads of fate had been woven differently, we might have gotten another hit from these capable hands.
A The Elder Scrolls from Obsidian – that sounds almost too good to be true, don’t you think? Well, it’s not. Obsidian once lobbied Bethesda to get the green light for a spin-off of the cult role-playing game series
The Elder Scrolls: New Cheydinhal
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Chris Avellone, co-founder of Obsidian and active there until 2015, has confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that the idea of his own Elder Scrolls game had once taken on very concrete traits. Unfortunately, Avellone does not provide us with any concrete details about the content of the games, but this insight should still be interesting for fans
This is true. One of the Elder Scrolls proposals (which I pitched) was intended to serve the same function as FNV did between F3 and F4, to provide more adventures in the setting during the years before the next Bethesda release. https://t.co/7yJNkn8cUY
– Chris Avellone (@ChrisAvellone) December 18, 2023
One of the titles should have taken on a similar role to Fallout: New Vegas and made the waiting time between two main parts of Bethesda more bearable. According to Chris Avellone, the model for this vision was Call of Duty:
I figured it wouldn’t hurt to push a system similar to what Treyarch/Activision were trying to do with Call of Duty back in the day (but hopefully less rushed). Bethesda could release a mainline version, then we’d get an Elder Scrolls title (in the same world or a different timeline/era) out before the next big Bethesda push.
It’s not known exactly why Bethesda nixed these plans. Chris Avellone at least suggests that it could have something to do with the commercial success of Fallout: New Vegas, which apparently wasn’t big enough for Bethesda.
Probably less relevant now that Elder Scrolls Online is going, but at the time, it seemed to be something that could benefit both studios.
– Chris Avellone (@ChrisAvellone) December 18, 2023
What is Obsidian currently working on?
Obsidian has now built up enough of its own footholds to be able to get over the rejected Elder Scrolls spin-off. The studio is currently working on several games, two of which have already been officially announced
The fantasy role-playing game Avowed looked like a Skyrim clone when it was announced in 2020, but we now know: Obsidian is not using an open world here, but would rather focus on a more intense, but more linear experience, so similar to The Outer Worlds. This decision makes our role-playing game expert Peter rejoice.
And then there’s The Outer Worlds 2. Let’s keep it short: virtually nothing is known about the sequel to the 2019 sci-fi role-playing game, but at least there’s already a first trailer that should get fans of the first game in the right mood:
So you see: the future of Obsidian looks bright and role-playing game fans can look forward to plenty more from the Californian experts, even without an Elder Scrolls spin-off. Since the takeover by Microsoft, the studio is already in calmer financial waters than it was a few years ago, even if this comes with a certain amount of responsibility!
Would you have been happy about a spin-off of The Elder Scrolls from Obsidian? Or do you think the role-playing game experts should concentrate on creating and expanding their own game series? Are you looking forward to Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2? We’d love to hear what you think, so let us know in the comments!
