{
  "id": 9543342,
  "title": "Bethesda say new underlings Obsidian will retain their \"distinct\" creative identity, despite no longer being as free to work on their own creatively distinct series",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/bethesda-say-new-underlings-obsidian-will-retain-their-distinct",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-24T11:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Rock Paper Shotgun",
    "slug": "rock-paper-shotgun",
    "url": "https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/bethesda-say-new-underlings-obsidian-will-retain-their-distinct-creative-identity-despite-no-longer-being-as-free-to-work-on-their-own-creatively-distinct-series"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bethesda has announced that Obsidian will no longer operate independently and will instead be under the leadership of Bethesda Game Studios. This change comes after layoffs and reorganization at Xbox, as confirmed in a memo by Jill Braff, the president of Bethesda and Microsoft's casual games division. Braff emphasizes that Obsidian's distinct creative identity and strengths will remain intact, as they will continue to lead their own studio and work closely with Bethesda. However, it appears that the RPG series The Outer Worlds and Avowed will be deprioritized, with the focus now on a new Fallout project. This shift in structure aligns with Bethesda's franchise-led model and aims to strengthen their existing RPG franchises. While some may argue that Obsidian can still retain its unique identity, it is likely that they will become more of a collaborator rather than an independent studio with the ability to develop their own series.",
  "summary": "Obsidian will remain a \"distinct\" Obsidian with their own \"creative identity and strengths\", despite no longer operating independently of fellow Xbox-owned RPG makers Bethesda. That's according to Jill Braff, president of Bethesda and Microsoft's casual games division, in a memo sent to staff at the former following this week's layoffs and reorganising of studios at Xbox. Read more",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}