Obsidian Entertainment Facing Quarter-Staff Reduction Amid Sweeping Xbox Restructuring
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Obsidian Entertainment is reportedly losing a quarter of its staff as part of broader Xbox layoffs, with 60 to 70 roles impacted across multiple departments.
Legendary RPG developer Obsidian Entertainment is reportedly losing roughly a quarter of its workforce in the wake of sweeping structural cuts across Xbox. According to a report by Kotaku, the studio behind Fallout New Vegas, The Outer Worlds, and Avowed is shedding between 60 and 70 roles. The layoffs span multiple disciplines including artists, designers, writers, and QA testers, touching both veteran staff with over a decade at the company and senior leadership figures like the art director of The Outer Worlds. While Microsoft's broader restructuring plan involves eliminating 3200 jobs over time, Obsidian was hit immediately in the first wave.
The human cost of these cuts is immense, especially given Obsidian's status as one of Microsoft's most prolific acquisitions since joining the Xbox umbrella in 2018. Developers affected by the reductions have taken to social media to voice their frustration, with narrative designer Jay Turner describing the cuts as corporate sacrificial rituals. Impacted staff include legacy talent who helped shape modern RPG classics, leaving communities wondering how future projects will be affected when institutional knowledge walks out the door.
For now, development on Grounded 2 and upcoming DLC for The Outer Worlds 2 is reportedly continuing as planned, but the long-term outlook remains uncertain beyond current commitments. Obsidian leadership is holding internal meetings to map out the studio's path forward with a significantly reduced headcount. As AAA development costs balloon and publisher mandates shift, the contraction at one of the industry's most respected storytelling studios highlights the ongoing instability facing creators across the ecosystem. Original reporting comes via Eurogamer and Kotaku.
Tags: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox, Industry News, Layoffs, RPG
Original article: Eurogamer