Brandon Adler Loses His Patience: "Clueless and Tone-Deaf"
On July 11, 2026, Brandon Adler — director of The Outer Worlds 2 at Obsidian Entertainment — posted on LinkedIn and absolutely exploded with genuine fury. The reason? A wave of speculation and rumors flooding the internet after Microsoft's massive layoffs.
The scene was brutal: early July, Microsoft announced around 1,600 jobs cut from their gaming division. About 50 of those were from Obsidian itself. But what really got under Adler's skin wasn't the number of layoffs — it was the sheer number of people suddenly talking about the studio like they were experts when they didn't know jack.
The Message Adler Laid Out, No Holding Back
Adler said in his post: "This was an incredibly difficult week at Obsidian. I didn't just have to say goodbye to incredible developers, I said goodbye to some of my closest friends." That pain is real, and the anger is justified.
But what really set him off came right after. He ripped into people talking about the studio "with absolutely no understanding of who worked on our previous games or what they brought to the table," and said the sheer number of these people is — seriously — mind-blowing. People, he said, are "spouting off about something with zero insight into how game development actually works or who actually contributed to our past titles."
The Truth Adler Wants Everyone to Hear
Here's the important part — and he's hitting back at rumors saying Obsidian completely changed direction. Adler made it crystal clear: "In most cases, the people in leadership and management positions are the exact same people who worked on games like The Outer Worlds, Pillars of Eternity, and Fallout: New Vegas. Literally the same people."
He goes even further: "The thread running from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II straight through to our current games is crystal clear." This isn't being cute — it's a straight-up statement that the studio's soul hasn't changed. The people who made those legendary games are running the current projects.
What Rumors Actually Kicked This Off?
To be honest, the drama started when reports began floating around that Obsidian was shifting priorities. The gossip says the studio pivoted from one project to a new one led by Josh Sawyer. And in all of that, players and analysts started writing dramatic stories about the studio's demise, with zero actual information backing it up.
Obsidian's current projects include Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2, and Grounded 2. What's actually going to happen? Nobody knows the full story except the team itself.
My Take: Adler's Absolutely Right
Honestly, I'm with him on this one. I've watched it happen myself — half a news story turns into a full conspiracy theory on Twitter and Reddit, and suddenly everyone's a self-appointed expert. The layoffs are real and they hurt, but nobody actually knows what comes next.
The leadership at Obsidian — the people who made Fallout: New Vegas, Neverwinter Nights 2, and South Park: The Stick of Truth — they're still there. These aren't just regular people. They're skilled developers who've worked on some of the best games ever shipped.
Adler's anger isn't the rage of someone losing control. It's the anger of someone watching his studio get dragged through the mud based on speculation instead of facts.
The Bottom Line: Judge Them by Actions, Not Rumors
My advice? Give Obsidian the chance to prove itself through actual work and output, not gossip. The studio's been through rough patches before and come out stronger. Maybe that happens again this time.
If you're a fan of what Obsidian's made over the years, don't buy into the random doom-saying. Wait for the official announcements and the actual games. That's the only way to know what's real.
