Out of all the game series that have come and gone, the Fallout saga has stood the test of time. The veterans might even allude to a Radroach in the game. This is further proven by the best Fallout games. While the titles were amazing by themselves, the Fallout TV show has all but sealed the deal.
As more and more players flock back to the latest entries after the show’s success, I wondered if this is the perfect time for another Fallout video game or at least its spin-off. Before you come after with me with your Laspistols, hold on. My reasons for a Fallout game right now are actually good. Let’s break them down, shall we?
Fallout in 2024: How Is It?
Before explaining why I felt this way, let’s quickly look at the Fallout series. The show itself takes place in the namesake’s universe. It follows three different people from different situations, with a new story occurring years after Fallout 4. While you would expect only gamers to love the series, turns out everyone did.
This resulted in the games getting a resurgence. As early as this week, Fallout 4 had a sudden boost, which resulted in a 24-hour peak of over 190,000 players on Steam. Fallout 76, the online game based on the popular RPG, saw a sudden resurgence, too. Both games became top sellers in Europe and other countries. It even made Bethesda launch a next-gen update. Sadly, it broke mods and didn’t provide anything major on PC.
We Need Another Fallout Now; Here’s Why
If there’s one thing the series helped me re-affirm, it’s that Fallout can thrive outside the mainline games. Think about it. The show never directly references the game but connects to events that have helped create the world.
While I understand a major studio won’t like to dip their hands in just yet, we have another option. Letting a smaller team try their hands on the Fallout formula will give rise to many great stories. Think I’m wrong? Consider what happened when Bethesda took a chance and allowed Obsidian to create a game. That resulted in Fallout: New Vegas, one of the greatest video games of all time.
New Vegas became one of the pillars in the extended Fallout Lore, further fleshing out the Nu-Fallout lore (as I like to call the Bethesda-era of games). We already know it will take over a decade to get Fallout 5. The studio has previously confirmed in multiple interviews that they will revisit Wasteland after Elder Scrolls 6 first. This makes the game a distant dream.
Sitting on an Almost Missed Opportunity
Ever since the TV show’s release, interest in Fallout has been high. To capitalize on such excitement, swift action is needed. Releasing a small Fallout iteration right now will help build expectations around the game series and for a future entry.
It doesn’t end here. Xbox currently owns Bethesda, which is the parent company. As such, they do have a say in the games produced and published. With the sudden growth of the series, Microsoft is technically sitting on some easy goodwill with the fans and profits. The company should jump on the idea and greenlight the games ASAP. Failing to do so is a surefire missed opportunity.
However, I agree that making a new Fallout game from scratch will indeed be challenging. A possible solution to this is creating a smaller experience. This can be something like a choose-your-adventure game, where choices matter and have long-standing effects.
This, in effect, can be something like The Walking Dead from Telltale. If that’s impossible, a new expansion with a few hours will do. The potential is limitless, and both studios need to take that gamble.
So, Who Should Make It?
This brings me to the most pressing question: who should make the game? Someone has to take the job, right? After all, we can’t conjure a game out of thin air. Well, here are some studios I feel should give a shot at creating the next Fallout experience.
Obsidian Entertainment
You know this was coming, didn’t you? Obsidian is responsible for hits like Pillars of Eternity, Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2, Planescape: Torment, The Outer Worlds, etc. And, of course, the studio made Fallout: New Vegas. While they are currently busy making Avowed, Josh Sawyer did show his interest in making another Fallout game before his retirement.
He was the game director and lead designer of New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2, and the Narrative Designer on Pentiment. Knowing this, maybe Xbox can let the studio have a final ride in the wasteland. Since the studio has experience working in traditional CRPGs and RPGs, they can return to the roots with an isometric CRPG that focuses on storytelling for a Fallout game.
inXile Entertainment
inXile is a studio comprising people who’ve worked on Interplay Entertainment, Fallout’s original developers. While the studio owns the Wasteland series, technically a spin-off set in the Fallout universe, they’ve never tried revisiting it.
However, with inXile joining the Xbox family, I feel they can try creating a Fallout game in the vein of the Wasteland games. Since they have the RPG systems in place from Wastelands 3 and the tactical combat system, they can try making something like a Wastelands game. This looks like a game focused on the story, making it a road journey title through post-nuclear America with memorable lore.
Telltale Games
Xbox Studios shouldn’t be the only one to have a shot at Fallout. Remember Telltale Games? Well, they are still around and release episodic adventure games in smaller quantities. With Telltale wrapping up production of the Expanse and currently working on the Wolf Among Us sequel, Xbox Studios, and Bethesda can consider letting them have a go.
The potential Fallout game can have a story that follows new characters in a different era, focusing on choices and storytelling. This can be something like Tales of Borderlands or Minecraft: Story Mode. Just like the games mentioned above, the characters can crossover with fan favorites from the series, further expanding on the lore.
At the end of the day, it all depends on Mircosoft and its decision to let others create new Fallout games. And I’ll be honest with you when I say that it seems dicey. After all, they would be protective, right? Furthermore, given how long development times take now, even a smaller Fallout game might take years. But with Fallout Season 2 confirmed, the devs can make that a good release date.
Hopefully, with the advent of the series’ popularity, we get some more Fallout games soon. What do you think? Have you played any Fallout games out there? Let us know in the comments below.
