It’s no secret that the Fallout franchise is in desperate need of a new game, an issue that has become only more pronounced with the success of the Prime Video adaptation and the clear appetite for more stories in the same universe. Bethesda has now confirmed that Fallout 5 is in the early stages of production, but that likely means it will be years before we get to play it.
At the same time, we do also know that remasters/remakes of both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are on the way, and though those will inevitably arrive sooner, we don’t really have a timeline on those either. Happily, there is one game that continues to receive support from the developer, and its next update could be one of the most exciting yet.
Fallout 76’s Next Big Step
In case you missed it, all of the above announcements were made in a lengthy tweet from Bethesda themselves, and that gave us a glut of exciting information to digest all at once. That made it easy to miss smaller bits that were, on the face of it, a little less exciting that the arrival of Fallout 5.
One of those concerned Fallout 76, which has actually become one of the best ways to revel in the post-apocalyptic world the series has become known for. The statement from the developer reads:
“Fallout 76 continues to be home to millions of players exploring Appalachia together. With nearly 70 free updates released to date, the journey is far from over. In fact, we have a major Fallout 76 expansion planned for next year: Raven Rock, a prequel story to Fallout 3.”
That last part is particularly interesting because of the significant time gap between Fallout 76 and Fallout 3. The former is the earliest game in the timeline by far, and it’s set some 175 years before the events in the Capital Wasteland. That means we’re either getting a major timeline jump for the purposes of this update (perhaps something similar to Operation: Anchorage), or the events are seismic enough that they still resonate almost two centuries later.
It’s a fairly safe bet that the always-nefarious Enclave will be up to no good in some capacity, though how exactly Appalachia will connect to Washington D.C. in a world where all the infrastructure has been destroyed remains to be seen.
Fallout Is Far From Done
At the same time, Fallout fans have plenty to look forward to on the television front as well, with season three of the excellent Prime Video adaptation on the way next year. It will be interesting to see how the Enclave fold into that as well, and if there will be any further crossover between that and 76 before the end.
- Released
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November 14, 2018
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Engine
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Creation
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
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no
- Cross Save
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no
