Fallout 5is a long way out. Bethesda is currently working onStarfield, a new IP set for release beforeThe Elder Scrolls 6, which itself isn’t likely to release until at least the mid-2020s.
Based on the history of the franchise, it’s likely that such a long wait forFallout 5will eventually see a game that’s completely different fromFallout 4orFallout 76. Here’s a breakdown of that history and what it could mean for the future of theFalloutfranchise.
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The History Of Fallout
Fallouthas been through several distinct phases over the course of its lifespan.Fallout 1andFallout 2were isometric RPGs with a top-down perspective. Bethesda acquired the IP in the 2000s, creatingFallout 3, a first-person RPG which took the story-style and tone ofFalloutwhile adapting it to the first-person RPG perspective Bethesda had found success with inThe Elder Scrollsseries.
Fallout: New Vegaswas then developed byObsidian Entertainmentusing the assets fromFallout 3to create an ambitious new story set in the Mojave Wasteland that’s still considered by many to be a high point of the series. After that, Bethesda returned to the franchise withFallout 4, which made significant changes to the game’s combat system as well as its storytelling devices, adding two fully voiced player characters for each in-game gender option.
In another unexpected twist for the franchise, Bethesda took the assets fromFallout 4to create an open-world multiplayer game,Fallout 76.Fallout 76’s buggy launchcompounded criticism that the studio had already been faced with for creating a multiplayer version of a famously single player RPG franchise to begin with, and though the game’s community has grown to a degree even Todd Howard recently commented thatFallout 76“let a lot of people down.”
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Fallout’s Future
It’s likely thatFallout 5is at least 10 years away.Starfieldwill likely not release for another couple of years, at which point Bethesda will have to dedicate its resources fully toThe Elder Scrolls 6if the next chapter in the fantasy franchise is going to have a hope of stepping out ofSkyrim’s shadow. Rumors have circulated thatFallout: New Vegas 2could be in the works to tide fans over, though that is far from confirmed.
Regardless, it’s likely that ifNew Vegas 2was developed it would also use assets fromFallout 4, whileFallout 5would use the overhauled engine that Bethesda has been working on forStarfieldandThe Elder Scrolls 6. At Brighton Digital 2020, Todd Howard mentioned that both of Bethesda’s current projects would make more extensive use of procedural generation to create huge in-game worlds.
As a result,Fallout 5could realize a more realistic city size than players have ever seen before, while taking full advantage of all the other technical possibilities that an overhauled engine would allow. It remains to be seen if Bethesda will stick to voiced characters, though making such a significant change inFallout 4suggests the studio could make similarly large leaps for the next game too.
Fallout 5could be the start of a new generation ofFalloutgames just asFallout 3was. It’s almost impossible to tell where Bethesda might go with the franchise, especially since as a new IPStarfieldcould be a great opportunity for the studio to experiment with its classic RPG formula. What’s likely, however, is that fans can expect something very different from the last generation ofFalloutgames, and that whatever that new game ends up being, fans of the franchise are still in for a considerable wait.
