Following a period of intense organizational turmoil, Brandon Adler, a long-standing director at Obsidian Entertainment, has publicly addressed the emotional and professional toll of recent layoffs. In a candid statement posted to LinkedIn, Adler described the past week as “extremely difficult,” mourning the loss of “amazing developers” and valued colleagues who were let go during a sweeping wave of redundancies at Microsoft’s gaming division. His remarks were framed by a mix of grief for his departed team members and a firm defense of the studio’s internal culture.
Adler’s frustration was notably directed at external commentators—whom he termed “cold take artists”—who have used the studio’s recent downsizing as an opportunity to speculate on the company’s identity and creative integrity. The director emphasized that the prevailing narrative suggesting Obsidian has lost its way is born of ignorance. He argued that those criticizing the studio from the outside lack any real insight into the internal workings of the company or the historical contributions of its staff, resulting in what he characterized as a “staggering” amount of misinformation.
To counter claims that Obsidian is no longer the studio it once was, Adler pointed to the continuity of the company’s leadership. He stressed that the individuals currently in lead or directorial roles are largely the same veterans who spearheaded iconic titles such as Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, and The Outer Worlds. By highlighting that the “DNA” of the studio remains intact since its work on titles like Knights of the Old Republic II, Adler sought to decouple the recent administrative downsizing from the creative capabilities of the remaining team, asserting that the studio’s core vision remains consistent.
The broader context of these statements is the recent, massive restructuring within Microsoft’s gaming arm, which saw 3,200 employees laid off across the Xbox division. Obsidian, a pillar of the role-playing genre, was hit particularly hard, reportedly losing approximately 25% of its workforce. These cuts have triggered a significant shift in the studio’s strategic priorities. Under new mandates from parent company Xbox, which is looking to consolidate resources around its “biggest franchises,” Obsidian has been redirected to pivot toward the Fallout brand, with reports suggesting a new, original title is currently in development rather than a remaster.
The consequences of this consolidation have been immediate and costly for the studio’s project slate. Industry reports indicate that the workforce reduction and the sudden shift in mandate have forced Obsidian to abandon multiple previously planned initiatives. Most notably, this includes the cancellation of a sequel to Avowed, the fantasy role-playing game originally slated for 2025. This pivot marks a jarring departure for a studio that has long prided itself on its original intellectual properties and diverse project portfolio.
Ultimately, Adler’s defense serves as a reflection of the friction between high-level corporate restructuring and the grassroots culture of game development. While he remains “extremely proud” of the studio’s history and optimistic about its future evolution, the reality remains that Obsidian is navigating its most challenging chapter to date. As the studio leans into the massive Fallout franchise to appease corporate directives, the remaining team is left to balance the weight of their legacy against the volatile, evolving demands of the modern gaming industry.
