It’s A Bad Time To Be A New Fallout Fan, But Things Are Looking Up

"Claire, with all due respect, what the hell did I just play?"

It's the Spring of 2024, and one of my best friends, Kasey, has been sucked into the wonderful world of Fallout. But unlike most fans, Kasey got into the franchise via Amazon's incredibly well-produced Fallout television show. Naturally, she fell in love with the Wasteland, and immediately wanted to hop into playing the Fallout games, too. I'd suggested the most recent non-MMO in the series, Fallout 4, which was released in 2015. Unfortunately, despite enjoying some aspects of the game, Kasey was disappointed 

I'll be honest: I hate Fallout 4's story. But Kasey isn't much of a gamer, so I figured starting there was our best bet, rather than throwing her into the deep end with Fallout 76 when she's never played an MMO in her life. Certainly, Fallout 4 would keep her attention better than the older games, which are fantastic but in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint. So Fallout 4 it was. Unsurprisingly, she hated the bizarre conclusion of the main story and the overall slog of constantly babysitting settlements.

"The show is better than the game," she added. "I'm sure that's blasphemy in the circles you run in, though."

I tell her she's not entirely off-base, but she also raises an extremely valid complaint:. As it stands now, some of the best Fallout games are nearly impenetrable for the influx of new Fallout fans who watched the show but aren't dedicated gamers who are willing to overlook things like ancient graphics or slightly clunky controls. In short, it's a bad time to be a new Fallout fan.

Honestly, I'm a little surprised Bethesda chose to pursue a television show when it did, during a time when the most recent Fallout title--the game people who like the show are most likely to encounter first--is an aging MMO that was notoriously reviled at launch and doesn't represent the heart of the series (something the show manages to do surprisingly well). On top of this, when the show first aired, any future Fallout games were still a long ways off, in part because Bethesda has spent years desperately trying to get people to like Starfield and teasing The Elder Scrolls 6 (which is also years away). 

But we finally have some good news. It seems Bethesda has realized there are better ways to capitalize on the show's popularity than sticking The Ghoul in Fallout 76 and hoping it draws in fans of the show.

A total of four Fallout games are now in production, according to a recent announcement by Bethesda. Fallout 5 is confirmed to be in the pre-production stage, and Bethesda is also working on remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, meaning new fans will finally have access to modernized versions of the two games the show seems to draw on the most when it comes to plotlines. 

"We also know many players want to revisit previous Fallout experiences," the studio said. "While we’re not announcing any [launch] dates today, we have been working on remasters for both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas."

It's about damn time, but even more intriguing, if you ask me, is a new Fallout game in production at Obsidian; the same studio that gave us the best Fallout game Bethesda never made, Fallout: New Vegas, and also serves as the source of much of the show's lore.

It's been a long time since I played a Bethesda game with a story I genuinely enjoyed, and I'm hyped to see if Obsidian can work its magic a second time, give us another memorable Wasteland experience, and perhaps even give the show an additional source of inspiration. Obviously, Obsidian isn't the same studio it was when New Vegas arrived back in 2010, but having more than one studio working on Fallout games means there's a much higher likelihood that fans of the show--including my dear friend Kasey--will find a game that suits their tastes.

Currently, there's no info available on which new Fallout game will arrive first, at the very least, it seems like we won't have to wait for TES6 to launch before we see a new Fallout game. And perhaps more crucially, players who are new to the franchise will finally have some modern (and modernized) Fallout games to hold them over between seasons of the TV show instead of being stuck with the series' two least-exciting titles.

I just hope both Bethesda and Obsidian have the good sense to stay away from voiced protagonists this time.