Bethesda has kept many of the details about its upcoming games close to the studio’s chest, as there are only two projects confirmed to be in development,StarfieldandThe Elder Scrolls 6. ForFalloutfans, this makes it seem likely thatFallout 5is easily around a decade away.
While this may be disappointing for fans of the franchise, there are some good reasons that a long wait forFallout 5could be good for the series. Not only that, but it could see a return to one of RPG gaming’s most popular collaborations.
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Bethesda’s Development Timeline
Bethesda hasn’t revealed much about either of its upcoming titles.The Elder Scrolls 6got it announcement teaser back in 2018, though there has been very little news about theSkyrimsequel since. In fact, there have been so few updates about basic details like thesetting ofThe Elder Scrolls 6that some fans have speculated that the game was announced early to try to divert attention from the announcement ofFallout 76.
While not much has been revealed aboutThe Elder Scrolls 6, fans can reasonably expect that it will fulfill most ofThe Elder Scrollsformulafrom a first-person view to a large open world.Starfield, on the other hand, is the first new IP that the studio has tackled in over two decades.
While it has been confirmed thatStarfieldis a spacefaring RPG, many fundamental details remain unclear. A fewleakedStarfieldimagesshow what appears to be a player character from a third-person view. This character is standing in front of a ship and has a meter that appears to indicate O2 and CO2 levels, but any inferences remain speculative.
What has been confirmed, however, is that Starfield will be releasing beforeThe Elder Scrolls 6, despite both projects being announced in 2018. Bethesda has also claimed back in August that there would be no news aboutStarfielduntil 2021. Brighton Digital 2020 proved that wrong in a slight way, withTodd Howardmentioning that both games would make more extensive use of procedural generation to create their worlds than previous titles. However, if Bethesda is still withholding major news until next year, it’s likely thatStarfieldis still at least a year or two out.
This would likely put therelease date ofThe Elder Scrolls 6at around 5 years away, which likely means that any development ofFallout 5probably hasn’t begun yet and likely will not begin its early stages until after the release ofStarfield. However, this might not be the bad news forFalloutfans that it initially appears to be.
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Reasons to Wait for Fallout
For a start, Bethesda shouldn’t rush the nextFalloutgame. It’s an interesting time in the RPG industry–huge studios like BioWare, CD Projekt Red, and Bethesda have all had controversial launches over the last few years that didn’t stand up to their previous critical success. BioWare hadAnthemandMass Effect: Andromeda, CD Projekt Red sawSony pullCyberpunk 2077from the PlayStation store, and Bethesda’s reputation was damaged byFallout 76.
Fallout 5will need time to be realized as a fully next-gen RPG, and the pressure to create a huge open-world in a short amount of time could leave that world feeling shallow and boring. Not only that, but it would increase the likelihood of developers working under crunch time. In short, time pressure could be bad for both the studio and theFalloutfans. This has also been noted for other long-awaited games. Many fans ofGrand Theft Autoare hoping Rockstar takes its time withGTA 6afterCyberpunk’s difficult launch to avoid some of the same problems.
A longer wait forFallout 5could deliver on another note. Ever sinceMicrosoft began its acquisition of Zenimax Media Inc, Bethesda’s parent company, the Xbox manufacturer has been in the process of bringing Bethesda and Obsidian Entertainment under one roof. This could make anotherFalloutgame developed by Obsidian possible.
Fallout: New Vegas 2?
Obsidian developedFallout: New Vegas, with Bethesda publishing it. The game was a success, but relations between the studios were left strained whenNew Vegasgot an 84 on Metacriticwhich denied the studio a bonus it would only have received if it the game was rated 85. However, with both owned by Microsoft, a sequel or spiritual successor toNew Vegascould be possible once again. If nothing else, Bethesda might be put in a position where allowing another Obsidian-developedFalloutgame could keep interest in the franchise alive as Bethesda works on its other projects.
As uncertainly sweeps the RPG industry, a likely success like aFallout: New Vegassequel could also be a safe financial bet for both companies. Other RPG studios have also been returning to their core IPs, with BioWare announcing both a newMass Effectgame and the remasteredMass Effect: Legendary Edition.
Fallout 5may be a long way off, but that’s likely the best thing for fans of the game and the studio alike.StarfieldandThe Elder Scrolls 6could provide significant opportunity for experimentation that could benefitFallout 5, while also giving the developer time to really bring the world to life instead of just hitting the core tenets of theFalloutformula. The game’s future may rely on the reception ofStarfieldand the nextElder Scrolls– for now, the prospects of theFalloutfranchise and Bethesda itself remain unclear as gaming enters the next generation.
