Obsidian Entertainment could’ve brought us a solid spin-off to The Elder Scrolls, but Bethsda rejected its pitches. The Fallout: New Vegas developer made an effort to continue a working relationship with Bethesda even after the treatment it received during New Vegas’ development.
Obsidian co-founder Chris Avellone took to Twitter, responding to an article put out by 80 Level that resurfaced statements. He likened it to what Treyarch and Activision do, trading off releases to keep Call of Duty relevant, with one studio taking the mainline and the other taking the filler. Largely, though, Bethesda rejected the idea.
Particularly, Avellone pitched an in-between game within The Elder Scrolls universe to serve the same purpose that Fallout: New Vegas served, something to tie fans over while waiting for the next numbered entry in the franchise. But, this obviously fell through, why it did will probably remain a mystery, but we’ll all have to live with the knowledge that at one point there could’ve been an Obsidian-made Elder Scrolls.
Some suggest that the poor sales figures of Fallout: New Vegas played a hand in the decision, while others speculate that the company feared that Obsidian would outshine it, thanks to the near-immediate cult-following FNV fostered.
I thought it couldn't hurt to try and push a similar system to what Treyarch/Activision had going with Call of Duty at the time (but hopefully less rushed).
Bethesda could do a core release, then we'd release a TES title (in same world or a divergent timeline/era) before the…
— Chris Avellone (@ChrisAvellone) December 18, 2023
