Fallout 3 and Oblivion remasters have leaked

Confidential and unedited Microsoft documents have leaked in the FTC case regarding the acquisition of Activision Blizzard King. This is a major mistake that has revealed several unannounced projects from Xbox, such as remasters of Oblivion and Fallout 3.

These were already in development before Microsoft acquired Bethesda in 2020, so a lot could have changed now, three years later. The scope of the projects may have changed, and some may have been internally canceled. COVID-19 could have even played a role.

The remaster of Oblivion was originally planned for the fiscal year 2022, and the remaster of Fallout 3 for the fiscal year 2024. It is evident that Oblivion has been delayed or canceled - we can only speculate as there is very little information available, and all these details were revealed through a leak, not an official announcement. However, there could be valid reasons for the delays, as the project may have evolved into something more ambitious.

It is worth mentioning that an alleged former employee of Virtuos Games posted on Reddit earlier this year about an Oblivion remake. They claimed that the entire game is being developed using the Unreal Engine 5 and that a significant portion of the core gameplay and physics still utilize the original Creation Engine. It was supposedly slated for release in 2024-2025, two to three years after the information in the document. It is possible that since the creation of the document and Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda, the remaster of Oblivion has transformed into a remake and has consequently been delayed.

Virtuos Games is collaborating with Konami on the remake of Metal Gear Solid 3, so it is no stranger to ambitious overhauls of popular classics. However, whether it is actually developing the so-called 'remaster' of Oblivion is unclear. The document does not provide any information on that, and the claim originates from an anonymous, unverified Reddit user, so it should be taken with caution.

Apart from the remasters of Fallout 3 and Oblivion, this document also revealed that a new Doom game called Year Zero and Dishonored 3 are in development at Bethesda. Again, there is very little information available on both projects, and the document is now three years old and predates the Microsoft acquisition, so everything could have changed since then.

Originally, Doom Year Zero was planned for release in the fiscal year 2023, while Dishonored 3 was slated for the fiscal year 2024. FY2023 ends on September 30th, so it is evident that Doom Year Zero has been delayed. It is likely that projects for FY2024 have also been delayed, including the remaster of Fallout 3.