Sour news to kick off this morning, as Joystiq is reporting that Obsidian Entertainment, the role-playing game-focused developer of titles like Fallout: New Vegas and Neverwinter Nights 2, has been hit with a number of layoffs. Citing a tip received overnight, as well as a number of tweets and forum posts on the official Obsidian website, the report claims that as many as 20-30 employees from various divisions were cut loose, including an employee hired on as recently as this past Monday.

Many of the staffers apparently let go were working on an upcoming, as-yet-unannounced project that had been codenamed "Project North Carolina," which is now purportedly canceled. However, some were staffers that had been working on the upcoming South Park RPG, which will be published by THQ.

Those affected reportedly include lead programmer Frank Kowalkowski, who had been with the company for a little more than eight and a half years, as well as lead producer Jason Fader.

Obsidian has yet to release an official statement on the layoffs. We'll update this story if/when they do.