DuatDweller on 20/4/2026 at 12:27
Fallout: New Vegas designer says Bethesda can't remaster game without Obsidian
Despite pleas from fans, Bethesda may not be able to create a Fallout: New Vegas remaster. A former Obsidian Entertainment developer thinks the company lacks the essential source code. Without a capable engineer on staff, the rumored Fallout 3 remaster is more likely.
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https://www.notebookcheck.net/Fallout-New-Vegas-designer-says-Bethesda-can-t-remaster-game-without-Obsidian.1278101.0.html)
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Given the connections to Amazon’s successful TV show, some fans believe a Fallout: New Vegas remaster is inevitable. However, senior designer and writer for the RPG, Chris Avellone, has cast doubt on that possibility. In a TKs-Mantis podcast, he explained why Bethesda isn’t capable of tackling the project.
Obstacles preventing a New Vegas remaster
The publisher, which owns the franchise’s IP, enlisted Obsidian Entertainment to develop New Vegas before its 2010 release date. Although Microsoft eventually acquired both, they haven’t collaborated since. Unless that changes, Avellone doesn’t see how a faithful remaster is made.
According to the former developer, “I don't think Bethesda has the engineering know-how to make a remaster of New Vegas at all.” He points to an offer the company made to the studio after finishing the Fallout game. Bethesda was willing to pay $10,000 if it would “deliver all the source code and the ability to make the build.”
Obsidian CEO, Feargus Urquhart, denied the request, preferring to retain control of the assets. Avellone believes that, at best, Bethesda only has parts of the source code. As a result, it lacks the talent and resources to revisit the title.
One alternative is to create a hybrid of an older engine with Unreal Engine, as seen with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. It may make sense to try to approach first with the also-rumored Fallout 3 remaster. Still, ideally, developers would cooperate with the team that produced Fallout: New Vegas.
Jason Moyer on 19/5/2026 at 08:12
I don't understand why it would be an issue for Obsidian and Bethesda to collaborate on an FNV remaster WHEN THEY'RE PART OF THE SAME COMPANY.
DuatDweller on 22/5/2026 at 11:14
Are they? Well as long as they don't make another crash fest like Oblivion Remastered....
Jason Moyer on 31/5/2026 at 16:00
Yeah they're both part of Microsoft. But I doubt either Bethsoft or Obsidian would have anything to do with the remaster, it would get farmed out to some cheap 3rd party like Oblivion was.
DuatDweller on 17/7/2026 at 21:59
Bethesda just dropped the Fallout announcement fans have wanted for over a decade
Bethesda has officially confirmed that remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are in development, though release dates remain under wraps. The studio also announced a new collaboration with Obsidian Entertainment on an unannounced Fallout project while reaffirming that Fallout 5 and The Elder Scrolls VI remain key priorities. Starfield will continue receiving updates and new content as Bethesda expands support for its existing RPGs.
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https://www.notebookcheck.net/Bethesda-just-dropped-the-Fallout-announcement-fans-have-wanted-for-over-a-decade.1345616.0.html)
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After years of rumours, leaked court documents, and fans relying on the legendary A Tale of Two Wastelands mod to seamlessly stitch Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas into a single adventure, Bethesda Game Studios has finally confirmed that remasters of both games are officially in development. The announcement came as part of a lengthy update outlining the studio's future plans for Fallout, Starfield, and The Elder Scrolls. A Bloodborne remake and Half-Life 3 are pretty much the only gaming pipe dreams left.
In a message celebrating the studio's 40-year history, Bethesda revealed that it has been "working on remasters for both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas," adding that it is not yet ready to announce launch dates. Bethesda has yet to say whether the remasters will be limited to visual upgrades or include gameplay refinements and modern quality-of-life improvements, but at this point, anything is an improvement over the vanilla New Vegas experience. The remaster announcement was only one piece of Bethesda's roadmap.
Fallout 76 is set to receive a major expansion next year titled Raven Rock, a prequel story to Fallout 3. With the original Fallout squad back under Xbox's umbrella, the premise has already led some longtime Fallout fans to wonder if Raven Rock could borrow ideas from Van Buren, Black Isle's cancelled Fallout 3 project. Bethesda also confirmed that it is once again partnering with Obsidian Entertainment on a new, as-yet-unannounced Fallout project. This isn't particularly new information because Asha Sharma explicitly stated it in her post about Xbox's future.
The project has the potential to be a return to form for Obsidian because the studio has since reunited several Fallout veterans, including series co-creator Tim Cain, making it one of the industry's deepest repositories of Fallout talent. Elsewhere, Bethesda reaffirmed its commitment to Starfield, promising new Starborn content and continued updates heading into the game's third year. While Starfield divided opinion at launch, it has carved out a niche with a dedicated fanbase.
And finally, the elephant in the room: The Elder Scrolls VI. Bethesda confirmed the long-awaited successor to Skyrim has become its primary development focus, with it being built on Creation Engine 3. According to Bethesda, development is progressing as planned, with the team already playing The Elder Scrolls 6 internally and "loving how it looks." There's still no release date in sight, unfortunately.
Alongside Obsidian's Fallout project, Bethesda is hard at work developing Fallout 5. It, too, will use Creation Engine 3 like The Elder Scrolls 6. History has a funny way of repeating itself. Fifteen years ago, Obsidian's Fallout: New Vegas ended up overshadowing Bethesda's own Fallout 3 in the eyes of many RPG fans. With Obsidian once again developing a Fallout title alongside Bethesda's Fallout 5, lightning might just strike twice.
DuatDweller on 7/8/2026 at 19:56
Former Fallout 3 dev: the game “was not what we intended” as technical limitations plagued Bethesda's vision
Former Fallout 3 artist Nate Purkeypile says technical and memory limitations prevented Bethesda from fully realizing its vision for the 2008 RPG. He hopes the confirmed remaster will meaningfully rebuild the Capital Wasteland rather than merely upgrade textures and apply superficial visual enhancements.
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https://www.notebookcheck.net/Former-Fallout-3-dev-the-game-was-not-what-we-intended-as-technical-limitations-plagued-Bethesda-s-vision.1362987.0.html)
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After Bethesda confirmed that Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas remasters are in development, many discussions and opinions have popped up online. But what carries actual weight are statements from developers who actually helped create the original game back in 2008.
Nate Purkeypile worked as a world and lighting artist on Fallout 3 before lending his talents to Skyrim and Fallout 4, contributing to early Starfield development, and eventually becoming Fallout 76’s lead artist. The Fallout 3 developer is excited to see the Capital Wasteland get the second chance it deserved because, according to him, “it was not what we intended.”
Sitting down for an interview with YouTuber Steven Lake on The Examined Game, Purkeypile said he’s genuinely looking forward to seeing the Capital Wasteland get the remaster treatment it deserved because the team never really got a chance to fully realize its intended vision for Fallout 3.
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In the interview, while reminiscing about his Fallout 3 development days, he explained:
“I’m personally looking forward to the Fallout 3 remaster, because we were like, super tech-constrained making Fallout 3. You could only place so many lights.” This limitation alone restricted what Nate could do as a lighting artist. Texture sizes were small even by today’s standards. Nate stated that he spent much of his time during Fallout 3’s development “constantly worrying about the memory budgets or how much stuff you’re putting on screen.”
A sizeable gap between the team's vision and reality
Looking back at how Fallout 3 turned out in terms of fidelity and lighting, he candidly explained that there was a real gap between the scope of his ambition and the reality of what the team could achieve on the Gamebryo engine. He stated:
“It’s 100% not what we intended, and it was very, very constrained. I get why people are upset over movie remakes and stuff, but in the case of games and particularly the art side of it, it’s 100% not what we intended, and it was very, very constrained.”
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In Nate’s eyes, a modern remake or remaster of Fallout 3 isn’t erasing the past, as skeptics often comment online, but simply delivering on what the team hoped the 2008 original could have been. He used the example of recent remakes, such as Capcom’s Resident Evil lineup. However, he isn’t hoping for a lazy cash grab that just bumps up the texture resolution and adds a sharpening filter.
“I think a lot of these remakes have been done, frankly, better too. Like the Resident Evil ones and stuff, those were fantastic. Whereas, for a while, I think a lot of those updates were just like, ‘Oh, we made the textures a little bigger and threw a sharpen filter in Photoshop.’”
For now, there’s no official release window for Fallout 3’s remaster or the highly anticipated Fallout: New Vegas remaster, which is being developed in collaboration with original developer Obsidian. Nevertheless, if Purkeypile’s account is accurate, fans might just get to see Fallout 3’s Capital Wasteland and Fallout: New Vegas’ Mojave Wasteland the way the studios originally pictured them.
Pyrian on 8/8/2026 at 03:59
It concerns me that what he's concerned about are the parts of the game that are, IMO, more-or-less fine, while there's no mention of the cookie-cutter subway station maze.
DuatDweller on 8/8/2026 at 23:02
I have a nice schematic map that shows all interconnects for tunnels, subways and sewers that lead to main locations if you're interested.
