Obsidian Tried to Make a Fallout: New Vegas Style Spin-Off for The Elder Scrolls

Obsidian once had larger ambitions to collaborate with Bethesda outside of Fallout.

December 18, 2023, 12:13pm

Those at developer Obsidian Entertainment once tried to make a spin-off installment in The Elder Scrolls series, but Bethesda ended up passing on the idea. More than any other game it has made, Obsidian is likely most well-known for creating Fallout: New Vegas, which was an offshoot in the Fallout franchise that took place between Fallout 3 and Fallout 4. Despite the popularity and acclaim that New Vegas garnered with fans, though, Bethesda wasn’t willing to collaborate with Obsidian again when it comes to The Elder Scrolls.

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News of this potential Elder Scrolls spin-off came from Chris Avellone, who is a co-founder and former writer at Obsidian. In a series of messages on X (or Twitter), Avellone said that he personally pitched an idea that would see Obsidian releasing Elder Scrolls spin-off titles between core releases (Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim) that were made by Bethesda Game Studios. Avellone said that this pitch “didn’t gain much traction” which he inferred was because Bethesda wasn’t pleased with both the positive and negative reception tied to Fallout: New Vegas.

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

Avellone noted that one other reason Bethesda may have passed on this pitch was because of The Elder Scrolls Online. Originally released back in 2014, ESO was in the works for seven years before it ever saw the light of day. As such, at the time when Avellone and those at Obsidian tried to sell this proposal to Bethesda, the publisher surely knew that it had The Elder Scrolls Online waiting in the wings. With this in mind, it’s hard to blame Bethesda for passing on Obsidian’s pitch, especially considering that ESO is still going strong after nearly a decade and continues to receive constant support.

How do you feel about this idea of Obsidian working on a game tied to The Elder Scrolls? And do you believe that the studio could have reached the same heights with this franchise as it did with Fallout: New Vegas? Be sure to let me know either down in the comments section or reach out to me on social media at @MooreMan12.