Fallout: New Vegas, The Outer Worlds 2, and Avowed developer Obsidian Entertainment is facing a class action lawsuit amid allegations that the studio has "engaged in a systematic pattern of wage and hour violations under the California Labor Code and Industrial Welfare Commission ('IWC') Wage Orders."
As highlighted by Reddit user macken-zee on the PCGaming subreddit, this case isn't actually a totally new one – it appears to have flown under the radar for the last few months. In fact, it first kicked off in October last year, but an amended class action complaint filed on January 12, 2026, by a plaintiff (who is listed in The Outer Worlds 2's credits as a QA lead), outlines the allegations in full.
It's alleged that Obsidian "increased their profits by violating state wage and hour laws" by failing to "pay all wages (including minimum wages and overtime wages)," including those "due upon separation of employment," and pay wages in a "timely" manner during employment to the plaintiff and class members. Other allegations include the failure to "provide lawful meal periods or compensation in lieu thereof," or "lawful rest breaks," and failure to "reimburse necessary business-related costs" and "provide accurate itemized wage statements" to those claimed to be affected.
To be clear, the class is defined as "all persons currently or formerly employed by any or all Defendants as nonexempt employees in the State of California at any time between October 9, 2021 and the date of class certification," with Turner also aiming to certify "all members of the Class who separated their employment with any or all Defendants at any time between October 9, 2022 and the date of class certification."
The lawsuit seeks "monetary relief" for those allegedly affected "to recover, among other things, unpaid wages, unreimbursed business expenses, benefits, interest, attorneys' fees, costs and expenses," as well as "penalties pursuant" to the alleged Labor Code violations and Code of California Civil Procedure.
Obsidian filed a response to this in early March, in which it "denies, generally and specifically, each and every allegation" laid out, and requested that the complaint be "dismissed in its entirety with prejudice." It put forth 38 points of "defense or affirmative defense," including claims that the complaint "fails to state facts sufficient to constitute valid claims against Defendant upon which relief can be granted," and that the plaintiff and any alleged class members or aggrieved employees "consented to and/or acquiesced in the alleged conduct by Defendant of which Plaintiff now complains."
Since then, the case has been pretty quiet – per the Superior Court of California, County of Orange's register of actions, the last update apparently came the day after that aforementioned response was filed, and was a payment of $1,435, seemingly consisting of a complex case fee and a fee for an "answer or other 1st paper."
We've reached out to Xbox for comment, and will update this article if we receive a response.
