Highlights
- The official Pip-Boy companion app for Fallout 4 allowed players to manage their inventory, track quests, and play mini-games, providing a convenient and immersive gameplay experience.
- The app was compatible with certain editions of Fallout 4 that included a Pip-Boy replica, enhancing the immersive experience for players.
- Despite being delisted and no longer officially supported, the app can still be downloaded through third-party platforms or accessed by those who previously installed it, but its availability for future Fallout games is uncertain.
When Fallout 4 was first released in 2015 there was also a companion app available for the game that players could synchronize their in-game progress with. Using this app, players could essentially turn their mobile devices into Fallout’s famous Pip-Boy device, which every game in the franchise has used as a device to manage the player’s inventory systems. While this feature was greatly received by the community, this wasn’t enough to prevent it from eventually being shut down.
Overall, the Fallout 4 official Pip-Boy companion app was a helpful feature that deserves a comeback in the Fallout franchise. Not only should future Fallout games revive the Pip-Boy companion app, but some of the previous fan-favorite games could benefit from having their own version as well, considering these games are still being played by many fans.
Future Fallout Games Should Bring Back Mobile Companion Apps
The official Pip-Boy companion app allowed players to connect their mobile devices to their Fallout 4 save games in real-time to provide nearly full access to the functionalities of the in-game Pip-Boy. More specifically, players could manage their inventory, swap weapons, consume food, drinks, or chems, use healing items, view the map, track quests, and play holotape audio logs all from the companion app.
It's also worth mentioning that the holotape mini-games worked on the companion app, too. While it wasn’t necessary to play the game with the companion app, it let players manage Fallout 4’s survival elements with ease, which was especially useful for playing on the harder difficulties. It was truly a helpful resource that any player could utilize, and it also proved valuable to the speedrunning community given how convenient it was.
In addition to being available for any mobile device, the official Pip-Boy companion app also had a special interaction with the hardware offered in certain special editions of Fallout 4. For players who purchased versions of Fallout 4 that included a Pip-Boy replica, this hardware included an insert that most small phones could fit in. Running the companion app and then slotting the device into the Pip-Boy would result in a surprisingly immersive experience, although the app was still plenty immersive without the Pip-Boy replica hardware. Certain Fallout franchise merchandise has been quite controversial, though the Fallout 4 Pip-Boy replicas are considered an exception to this trend.
As useful as the companion app was though, it was eventually delisted. The official statement provided by Bethesda’s Support website claims that it was removed “due to incompatibilities with current requirements. Currently, no plans are announced to update the app”. This is the only statement regarding the status of the companion app, although hopefully, it will once again see the light of day for future Fallout games.
Despite being delisted, the Fallout 4 mobile companion still lives on. Technically, there are still ways to download and utilize the app, such as downloading versions of the app that have been preserved on third-party platforms. Otherwise, those who previously had it can allegedly find it in their previously installed app lists. The app is still fully functional, but official support for the app being abandoned is an unfortunate situation that doesn’t bode well for this feature to return for future games in the franchise.
The player counts for Fallout 76 continue to reach new highs after launching to a rough start, while the single-player games in the franchise are still extremely popular as well. So, while future games like Fallout 5 could be a perfect opportunity to revive the official Pip-Boy companion app, other games in the franchise could also make good use of it in the meantime. That said, more games in the Fallout franchise deserve some collector’s items as cool as the Pip-Boy replica that took the companion app to the next level.
Fallout 4 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.