Yes, the lead writer of Fallout: New Vegas is back at Obsidian, but you might want to hold off on those sequel hopes of yours

Lead writer on Fallout: New Vegas and Horizon Zero Dawn John Gonzalez is apparently back at Obsidian, but no, this doesn’t mean what you think it means.

Look, we all know you want a Fallout: New Vegas sequel, but it seems like Obsidian is a bit busy these days with titles like the soon to be released Avowed and upcoming Outer Worlds 2, both original IPs that are probably a lot easier to play around with. But I understand that hearing the news that John Gonzalez, original writer for New Vegas, is back at Obsidian would probably put some amount of hope in your heart. Gonzalez announced his return to the studio in a post over on his LinkedIn, sharing that he’s joined as creative director. Of what? Who knows! But it certainly isn’t New Vegas 2, as the developer literally wrote, “No, it’s not Fallout: New Vegas 2,” which I’m sure will come as a disappointment to many.

It’s probably safe to assume he’s working on a new IP for Obsidian, given that Avowed’s release date is right around the corner, and The Outer Wilds 2 is supposedly out sometime this year (I’m sure GTA 6 will have something to say about that, given how much it’s scaring off developers from actually announcing a release date for games due to be released this year). Obsidian has long been a studio filled with variety, but even more so in recent years, with games ranging from RPGs like Avowed, to historical adventure games like Pentiment, and bug-themed survival co-op games like Grounded, so I’m sure whatever Gonzalez is working on will be just as interesting.

Gonzalez left Obsidian back in 2011, moving onto Monolith Productions to serve as a writer for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. After that he served as lead writer for Horizon Zero Dawn, as well as narrative director on Forbidden West, so he’s been plenty busy in the intervening years. I’m sure that experience will do him plenty of favours in whatever’s coming next.