Obsidian Has No Plans for The Outer Worlds 3, but an Avowed…

Obsidian Entertainment has bad news for The Outer Worlds 2 fans: it's not planning on a third game at the moment. The Microsoft subsidiary had a mammoth 2025, launching three titles within the year, which could set it up for quite the future. However, that rapid release pace has also led Obsidian to rethink its priorities, so anyone hoping for a sequel to The Outer Worlds 2 may not want to hold their breath.

In addition to The Outer Worlds 2, Obsidian released Avowed and Grounded 2 in 2025, and while all three are still receiving updates, the studio is already looking ahead. It's rumored that Obsidian has four games currently in development, so there could be another big year in store down the line. That's exciting news for fans of the company's previous titles, but a new interview with the studio's co-founder may add a big asterisk.

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By Shayna Josi

Obsidian CEO Says The Outer Worlds 3 Isn't in Development, But Avowed 2 Could Happen

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart shed some light on what's to come for the studio, which unfortunately doesn't include The Outer Worlds 3 but may include Avowed 2. While some say The Outer Worlds 2 was one of the best RPGs of 2025, it didn't quite hit Microsoft's sales expectations. The game faced an uphill battle leading up to release after some controversy over its pricing. Microsoft originally pegged the RPG as its first $80 game, but the company walked back that decision to launch The Outer Worlds 2 at the AAA-standard $70 after severe backlash. Despite that course correction, the damage was done, and the game didn't sell as much as Obsidian had hoped, which likely played a role in its decision to step away from the franchise.

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While Urquhart doused hopes of a third Outer Worlds title, he did say the team plans on making more Avowed games. The Skyrim-inspired fantasy RPG also did not meet Microsoft's expectations, but Obsidian said it's happy enough with Avowed's sales to pursue a sequel, and it seems like that's still very much on the table. Urquhart explains how Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2's shortfalls led the studio to rethink its approach going forward, saying, "They're not disasters," but "it was more like: 'That sucks. What are we learning?'" So, while Obsidian may still see value in both franchises, it may think there's more to get out of the Avowed universe right now than The Outer Worlds after reflecting on the year.

Falling short of sales expectations wasn't the only thing that pushed Obsidian to adjust its strategy. While Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 didn't hit their targets, Grounded 2 was a big hit, and this gave the team a model of how to succeed in the future. Urquhart says these ups and downs led Obsidian to consider "how much we put into the games, how much we spend on them, how long they take," reflecting on Grounded 2's relatively small budget and short timeline compared to the other two. Now, the studio aims to prioritize shorter dev cycles and fewer releases within a year to replicate that win.

Obsidian Studio Design Director Josh Sawyer added that releasing three games in a year as the company did in 2025 is "the result of things going wrong." Now, the studio hopes to cut dev times down to three or four years and space out releases to focus on honing a few titles instead of churning out many. Obsidian started development on The Outer Worlds 2 in 2019, and Avowed followed a similar six-to-seven-year dev cycle, which Urquhart and company say needs to change. How this will affect future titles remains to be seen, but Outer Worlds fans will have to accept that a third may not be in the cards.

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