Josh Sawyer Reflects on Fallout New Vegas’ Rocky Launch, Drawing Parallels to Cyberpunk 2077’s Initial Reception

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful

Want to add more newsletters?

Get ready for your weekly dose of everything you need to know about the games you adore, upcoming titles we think you’ll fall in love with, and stories from the vibrant communities that support them.

Our dedicated GTA 6 newsletter brings you the latest news, insider insights, and rumor breakdowns from the experts who know the game inside and out.

From the minds behind Edge comes a weekly newsletter focused on the gaming industry, featuring analysis from seasoned writers, advice from industry professionals, and a glimpse into what’s on the horizon.

Tech enthusiasts, unite! Sign up for our free tech newsletter to receive a weekly roundup of the hottest new gadgets, the latest tech reviews, and much more.

Join our new Switch 2 newsletter for weekly updates on Nintendo’s upcoming console, including the latest news and game recommendations.

Subscribe for a weekly roundup of the most important movie and TV news delivered straight to your inbox. From first-look trailers to interviews and reviews, we’ve got you covered.

Get exclusive sneak peeks, competitions, and details about special events every month!

Fallout: New Vegas is often celebrated for its rich role-playing variety in the modern Fallout series, but upon its initial release in 2010, it faced harsh criticism, with many deeming it a glitch-ridden mess that made Bethesda’s titles seem polished by comparison. Josh Sawyer, the lead on Fallout: New Vegas and a veteran at Obsidian, has been reminding fans of the game’s rocky launch, firmly rejecting any attempts to rewrite history.

In response to comments about how it took fans around five years to appreciate New Vegas, Sawyer took to Bluesky to emphasize his point.

“Do people think they remember the initial reviews of F:NV better than I do?” he posted on Thursday.

In a follow-up, he pointed out that while some reviews were positive, many early critiques were quite harsh. And let’s be real: they were justified because the game was indeed a mess.

“There was another game that sold very well at launch that did not review amazingly… you may know it as… Cyberpunk 2077!!!” Sawyer added. “I hope that people now recognize that it is a great game (in my opinion) but that its reputation at launch was not fantastic.”

Not one to back down, Sawyer noted in a Friday post that “some people are stubbornly holding on to their beliefs and saying, ‘That’s not how I remember it.’ That’s okay because there is an easy explanation: you are wrong. I hope this helps you on your journey through life.”

Even setting aside the technical issues, Obsidian’s unique approach took some time for fans to adjust to. Fallout: New Vegas currently sits below all four mainline Fallout games on Metacritic, including the original from 1997 and, ironically, Fallout 4, which was criticized at launch for offering less depth in choices and consequences.

Time has played a significant role in how New Vegas is perceived, not just in the ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ sense. It has allowed devoted fans to continue praising the game while those who didn’t enjoy it have moved on. Additionally, the depth of its role-playing mechanics makes for replay experiences that feel refreshingly different, with major narrative choices potentially altering the entire journey. Compared to more recent titles like the quirky Fallout 76 and the frequently re-released Fallout 4, New Vegas still holds a unique charm in its setting, story, quests, and overall gameplay.

Bethesda designed Fallout 3’s VATS system to differentiate it from Call of Duty and Battlefield, drawing inspiration from KOTOR and Burnout: “Imagine the car parts are, like, eyeballs and guts!”

Rank	Player	Score	Time