Highlights
- Fallout 3 deserves a remaster akin to Skyrim's Anniversary Edition, with added DLCs, graphics updates, and preinstalled modlist features.
- The Fallout franchise's current surge in popularity, fueled by Amazon's Fallout show, creates a prime opportunity for Bethesda to release a remastered Fallout 3.
- While Fallout 5's release date is uncertain, fans can only hope that a potential Fallout 3 remaster with enhanced graphics and modlist capabilities happens.
Bethesda's many re-releases of Skyrim, instead of remastering other The Elder Scrolls or Fallout games, has become a meme. Still, the latest release of Skyrim, Skyrim’s Anniversary Edition, is a bit more than a simple remaster since it brings together all the best features of the game’s many releases, including the remaster upgrades, every DLC, and 74 different community mods as base game features.
This massive modlist adds a wide variety of content to the game, notably including new quests, locations, enemies, weapons, armor, and gameplay features. Aside from adding in any further community mods from Skyrim’s Creation Club, the Anniversary edition is the best way for players to experience the game, and if a Fallout 3 remaster ever happens, it should arguably get this same treatment.
What The Fallout TV Show's New Vegas Representation Means For The Timeline
The Fallout Show’s various references to the games that came before it have some serious implications for the franchise’s timeline of canon events.
Fallout 3 Deserves a Remaster
Between The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises, Bethesda ultimately has many games that deserve a remaster at this point, though Fallout 3 is a special case. This was the first Fallout game developed by Bethesda after the studio obtained the rights to the Fallout franchise from Interplay Entertainment, and although Fallout 3 hasn’t outdone Skyrim’s popularity, it’s still a beloved Bethesda RPG nonetheless.
Official Plans for a Fallout 3 Remaster were once Leaked
Back when Microsoft was still under investigation by the FTC concerning the Activision Blizzard acquisition, leaked internal documents revealed a Fallout 3 remaster was once planned for a potential release in 2024. Since then, the timeline of these documents has proven to be inaccurate, though this doesn’t entirely rule out the possibility of a Fallout 3 remaster coming soon.
Recently, the Fallout franchise has been met with a massive surge of new and returning players due to the popularity of Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout show. For the most part, fans have been gravitating toward the most recent Fallout franchise games, even setting new all-time player records for Fallout 76. Given the franchise’s current popularity, Bethesda could strike while the iron’s still hot by releasing a new Fallout game.
While a new Fallout game would presumably be well-received by an impressively large fanbase, unfortunately, Fallout 5’s anticipated release date is a long ways away, likely several years still. Hence why, in the meantime, a Fallout remaster could fill this gap in the franchise, and Fallout 3 would be the perfect candidate.
Fallout 5 currently has no release date, as Bethesda is said to be preoccupied with developing The Elder Scrolls 6 first.
A Fallout 3 Remaster Deserves the ‘Skyrim Treatment’
Introducing a graphics update and offering all the DLCs in one package for Fallout 3 is sure to be a treat for new and returning fans of the franchise, but following in Skyrim’s footsteps and offering a preinstalled modlist would sweeten the deal. From feature overhauls to quality-of-life improvements that iron out some of the game’s sharp edges, the modding community has a seemingly endless amount of game-changing mods for Fallout 3 that are worthy of being included in a remastered release of the game.
Also, while the Skyrim Anniversary edition’s 74 featured mods might seem like a generous amount, this only scratches the surface of the different kinds of content and features that are available with mods. Consequently, a remaster for Fallout 3 would be the perfect time to bring Bethesda’s Creation Club to Fallout 3 to make downloading mods for the game more accessible across all platforms.
So, even though Fallout 3’s 10th anniversary has already passed, it’s not too late for the game to get the same treatment as Skyrim’s Anniversary edition. With the Fallout franchise’s surge of popularity after the positive reception from the Fallout show, it’s high time Fallout 3 gets the long-awaited remaster that it deserves.
