Abstract
Problem: What's been changing in Tim Cain's life and what does it mean for the Cain on Games YouTube channel?
Approach: Tim records a casual Friday update video walking through several major life and career changes.
Findings: Tim has moved back to Southern California, returned to Obsidian Entertainment as a full-time in-person employee (no longer a contractor or semi-retired), and confirms the channel will continue with full support from Obsidian.
Key insight: Despite returning to full-time game development under NDA, Tim sees no conflict with continuing the channel — his coworkers are fans of it, and he'll keep making videos as long as he has stories to tell and good questions to answer.
Move Back to Southern California
Tim has relocated from Seattle back to Southern California, roughly six weeks before this video aired (due to his recording queue). He notes that some viewers may have spotted a previous video on Arcanum magic design filmed in the new location before it was unpacked — that was a priority video requested by a "super mutant" tier supporter.
He's been busy unpacking and rearranging his shelves. The setup looks similar but items are in different places based on the new room layout. He discovered a box that had been moved to Seattle five years ago and never opened — inside was a jar full of dice, adding to his already extensive collection.
The Squirrel Tax
A squirrel immediately befriended Tim at his new place, approaching him with zero fear. On a friend's advice, he started feeding it walnuts. The squirrel now expects payment both when he leaves and when he comes home — two walnuts a day to access his own home.
Return to Obsidian Entertainment
Tim is back at Obsidian as a full-time, in-person employee — not a contractor, not remote. This effectively ends his semi-retirement period.
He mentions that at least one non-Obsidian game he contracted on during 2020–2025 will ship (his name will be in the credits), though he's unsure about others given how many games were started and cancelled during that turbulent period in the industry.
He cannot discuss his current Obsidian project due to NDA, and advises viewers not to bother guessing: "You're not going to guess."
Settling Back In
Within his first week back, Tim already had four new company shirts, including one Obsidian designed in memory of Terry Hess, an artist who recently passed away. He also attended The Outer Worlds launch party and came home with a tattoo of the Moonman.
The Channel Continues
No one at Obsidian has suggested he stop the channel. In fact, many coworkers watch it and have told him which videos and stories are their favorites.
Tim reflects on how the channel started: he wrote a thick memoir that everyone who read it called boring. People suggested he talk about his game development stories instead of writing them — and that became Cain on Games. Since then it's evolved beyond just retrospective storytelling into covering current game development trends and answering viewer questions.
He'll keep going as long as he has stories and viewers keep asking questions he can actually answer (noting he can't speak to art or music decisions made by other team members).
Chocolate Blog Revival
Being back in-person at Obsidian means the return of chocolate eating meetings. Tim's chocolate blog already has new entries, including a Dubai-style chocolate bar he was impressed by ("I thought it was a trend — it is delicious").
A practical benefit of being back in the office: he can share chocolate bars with coworkers instead of eating entire bars himself.
References
- Tim Cain. YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCVWRZqyroA