Fallout creator Tim Cain returns to Obsidian, already working on a mystery project

Obsidian Entertainment has officially brought back Tim Cain as a full-time developer. The well-known designer and programmer is the mind behind Fallout, with him creating the post-apocalyptic RPG when Interplay Entertainment still existed. Cain had been semi-retired from game development for at least a couple of years now, but today, he announced his return.

The news arrived via Cain's YouTube channel, where a video blog explains that he has moved to Southern California to work at Obsidian in person.

Other than being the creator, producer, designer, and lead programmer of Fallout, he also went on to design Fallout 2 in 1998. Following that, Cain has been involved in Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, and other projects until joining Obsidian Entertainment back in 2011.

This first stint at the studio had Cain working on Pillars of Eternity, Tyranny, and The Outer Worlds in various roles, including director. He has been working as a contractor for multiple studios since his "semi-retirement," even being a creative consultant for The Outer Worlds 2.

Following Cain's official return to Obsidian, he is already said to be working on a mystery project at the studio. Before anyone mentions Fallout, Cain has already said that the new project won't be an easy guess like that.

"I can't talk about the project that I'm working on at Obsidian, just because that's covered by NDA," he explains. "Don't bother guessing, you're not going to guess right."

It has been a busy year at Obsidian. The Microsoft-owned game developer has released three games in 2025, which are the RPGs Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 as well as the cooperative survival game Grounded 2. The studio is yet to announce what it is working on for 2026 and beyond, so there aren't any clues about the project Tim Cain is now involved in.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Saturday 6 December 2025 at 3:30 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of November): 5,412

RIP Matrix