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Tim Cain has returned to Obsidian Entertainment full-time, working on an unannounced project he claims nobody will correctly guess. The legendary RPG designer shared the update on his YouTube channel, confirming he's no longer contracting and has stopped work at other studios.
"I'm back at Obsidian, I'm there full time and in person, not remote," Cain explained. "Not a contractor anymore, this means I'm not working at other places." The shift from contractor to full-time employee suggests that Cain probably has a big role on the new project, though he didn't specify what role that may be - director, designer, or consultant - this remains unconfirmed.
Without official details, this is pure speculation, but he could be leading a smaller team or contributing design work to a larger project helmed by other directors.
Don't bother guessing what the game is
"I can't talk about the project I'm working on at Obsidian, because that's covered under NDA," Cain stated. "Don't bother guessing, you're not gonna guess right." That comment strongly suggests either a completely new IP or an unexpected return of the franchise nobody would associate with Obsidian's typical portfolio.
If it were Avowed 2, Outer Worlds 3, Fallout or another established Obsidian franchise, telling people not to guess would certainly feels odd since those would be the obvious assumptions. The deliberate dismissal of speculation implies something genuinely surprising, though "surprising" could mean anything from an experimental indie project to a major licensed property Obsidian hasn't touched before.
Cain co-created Fallout in 1997, establishing the post-apocalyptic RPG framework that defined the franchise. His credits include Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, The Temple of Elemental Evil, and, most recently, The Outer Worlds alongside fellow Fallout veteran Leonard Boyarsky.
His design philosophy emphasises player agency, systemic depth, and consequence-driven narrative, which have been the hallmarks evident across his work spanning three decades.
What this means for Obsidian
Obsidian currently works on Grounded, Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 post-launch content whilst presumably incubating future projects. The studio has historically juggled multiple development teams working on separate titles simultaneously, so Cain's project could be years away from reveal or closer than expected depending on scope and team size.
For now, we have a confirmation that one of RPG's most respected designers is back at Obsidian, making something nobody expects. Exciting times!
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