The Vault - Fallout Wiki

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The Vault - Fallout Wiki
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Fallout games are a series of role-playing video games developed by Interplay, Black Isle, Bethesda Game Studios, and a number of other studios, released either by Interplay Entertainment and, since 2008, Bethesda Softworks. The series encompasses both "core" role-playing titles and a number of spin-offs, as well as a significant number of cancelled projects.

Overview[]

Born out of Interplay's GURPS project, Fallout was originally intended to be a sequel to Wasteland, but due to licensing issues (the Wasteland IP was owned by Electronic Arts in the early 1990s), the team had to settle on producing a new, unique setting. Drawing inspiration from a plethora of sources, the Fallout setting is an eclectic mix of influences, mixing Mad Max, Wasteland, cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic fiction, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and of course, 1950s Americana and science fiction into one. Over a quarter of a century, the series has evolved into a massive media franchise attracting millions of players, and its setting solidified into a distinct retrofuturistic vision of an apocalyptic future.

The core system of the series, SPECIAL, was created specifically for the game, but was not the original choice. Vault 13: A GURPS Post-Nuclear Adventure relied on Steve Jackson's venerable Generic Universal RolePlaying System and the entire game was designed around it. When Interplay unilaterally broke the contract a few months before release, SPECIAL was created to fill in the void. It has been a staple of the series ever since and went through multiple iterations.

Although a smash hit for Interplay, a string of bad business decisions, abortive attempts to cash-in on the franchise, and two underwhelming games led to the once-great publisher licensing the franchise to Bethesda Softworks in 2004. Although the deal originally only covered three games, litigation between Interplay and Bethesda Softworks eventually resulted in the latter securing the rights to the entire intellectual property in 2007. Since Fallout 3's release in 2008, Bethesda has held exclusive rights to the IP.

Released games[]

Game Developer Publisher Release Date Platforms Genre Related games
Boxart
Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role-Playing Game
Interplay Entertainment Fallout team Interplay Entertainment 1997 PC

Mac

Isometric role-playing game Vault 13: A GURPS Post-Nuclear Adventure (early version)
Fallout2front
Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role-Playing Game
Black Isle Studios Interplay Entertainment 1998 (PC)

2002 (Mac)

PC

Mac

Isometric role-playing game
Fallout Tactics Box
Fallout Tactics*
Micro Forté

14 Degrees East

Interplay Entertainment 2001 PC Isometric tactical game Fallout: Warfare (tabletop component)
BoxArt FOB
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel*
Interplay Entertainment Interplay Entertainment 2004 Playstation 2

Xbox

Overhead action game
Fallout 3 cover art
Fallout 3
Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Softworks 2008 PC

PlayStation 3

Xbox 360

First person role-playing game
FNV box art (US)
Fallout: New Vegas
Obsidian Entertainment Bethesda Softworks 2010 PC

PlayStation 3

Xbox 360

First person role-playing game
Fallout4 pc boxfront-01 1433339939
Fallout 4
Bethesda Game Studios

Behavior Interactive

Bethesda Softworks 2015 PC

PlayStation 4

Xbox One

First person role-playing game Fallout Shelter (free to play management game)
F76 pc frontcover-norate-01 1528638773
Fallout 76
Bethesda Game Studios

Bethesda Game Studios Austin

Bethesda Softworks 2018 PC

PlayStation 4

Xbox One

First person online role-playing game** Fallout: Wasteland Warfare (tabletop game)

* Both Fallout Tactics and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel are considered non-canon by the current IP holder. See Fallout canon for details.
** Although Fallout 76 is billed as an RPG, it is a multiplayer spin-off designed for online play only and currently does not have branching storylines, dialogue choices, or human non-player characters.

Compilations[]

  • Fallout Trilogy: A collection of Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics released in 2004. Originally distributed by Interplay, rights to the trilogy passed on to Bethesda Softworks in 2014.
  • Fallout Anthology: A collection consisting of Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, released by Bethesda Softworks in 2015.

Canceled games[]

Hypothetical games[]

Unofficial games[]

  • Van Buren PnP, a cards-and-dice pen-and-paper game used by Black Isle Studios to test the first iteration of Van Buren rules.

External links[]

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