The Redmond-based tech giant is seeing the interest in the IP (even if it’s exacerbated by the fact that Fallout 4’s next-gen update is buggy on _all_ platforms…) and may be taking a forced path with the next new installment.

Insider Gaming has reported that Microsoft is keeping a close eye on the Fallout IP renaissance thanks to the Amazon-launched series, which has already ordered its second season. Understandably (and logically from a business standpoint), Microsoft wants to strike while the iron is hot, and therefore wants to seize every opportunity to make as much profit as possible from the public’s interest.

Speaking recently on the Xbox Two podcast, Windows Central editor Jez Corden said that Microsoft is aware of the interest in Fallout, and that everyone is hoping that the new game in the franchise will be a success. But that would require a drastic change: speeding up the development of Fallout 5, but it would require Bethesda Game Studios to stop working on one game at a time. Right now, Todd Howard’s main focus is on The Elder Scrolls VI after the release of Starfield.

And here’s the drastic move: Microsoft would NOT be developing the game with Howard’s team, but another studio would get the job. The last time this happened was in 2010, when Fallout: New Vegas was developed by Obsidian Entertainment. And that company is also owned by Microsoft. So what would stop Microsoft from handing the game over to Obsidian again? After all, we’ve been hearing about them making a Fallout for a long time. It would also be a big relief for director Josh Sawyer, who worked on Pillars of Eternity after F:NV and then came up with Pentiment.

So if Microsoft was serious, they would approach Obsidian and say, “How would you like to make a new Fallout game? There would be no argument.

Source: Reddit, Insider Gaming