Highlights
- Fallout 5 is expected to be a significant improvement over previous games thanks to a new engine and support from Microsoft.
- The release of Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 before Fallout 5 will set high expectations for the game, but it will also allow Bethesda to add well-received features from both games into the next Fallout.
- The long gap between releases (potentially around 12 years) suggests that Fallout 5 will be a massive upgrade in terms of gameplay, visuals, and overall polish.
Leading up to the release of Starfield in late 2023, it has been made abundantly clear Fallout 5 is still many years away. This far-off release date means that expectations for both Bethesda and the genre as a whole are going to be extremely high whenever it does make its debut.
Ultimately, with a new engine, Microsoft’s support, recent and existing Bethesda RPGs to learn from, and the benefit of time, Fallout 5 could turn out to be a huge step forward. In fact, it may be so much of an upgrade that it is immediately distinct from any of the existing Fallout games.
Fallout 5 Is Going to Be a Massive Upgrade for the Franchise
Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 will both arrive before Fallout 5 and leading up to Starfield’s release, though The Elder Scrolls 6 still doesn’t have a release date yet, indicating that the next games from Bethesda are a long way out. Especially considering that The Elder Scrolls 6 may be the end of Todd Howard's time with TheElder Scrolls franchise, the quality of the game is likely going to leave big shoes for the Fallout franchise to fill.
Given how similar most of Bethesda’s franchises are in their RPG roots, the influence each of these franchises continues to share with each other is undeniable, so any improvements made in Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 will surely be carried over to Fallout 5. Even within the sphere of RPGs as an entire genre, some of Bethesda’s latest titles have been widely considered to be milestone benchmarks, setting high standards for any competition. With all the improvements that each upcoming game is expected to bring, Fallout 5 has a lot to learn from when it finally releases.
Speculation from insider sources and the video game community has placed the release date for Fallout 5 sometime around 2030, which if accurate would mean around a twelve-year gap between Fallout 5 and the previous game, Fallout 76. Relative to the Fallout franchise, twelve years is the difference between Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas, which is an immediately noticeable shift in the series. For further context, currently, the largest gap between any of Bethesda’s franchise sequels is the gap between Oblivion and Skyrim of roughly 5 years. With at least twice the time span of the largest gap in The Elder Scrolls franchise, Fallout 5 is expected to be a massive upgrade over the previous Fallout game.
In terms of where the story might go, Fallout 5 could be a great opportunity to continue the overarching narrative of the franchise, instead of being another prequel in the series. The most recent game in the franchise leading up to Fallout 5 was a prequel, and this proved to be a double-edged sword. While the story of Fallout 76 gives more depth to the early events of the Fallout games’ timeline, it fails to leave a lasting impression on the franchise since some of its major conflicts get resolved before reappearing in any of the games that take place afterward, at least so far.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda is a partnership that gives Fallout 5 a lot more resources and support, and this is great news for the state of Bethesda's upcoming games. Not only could they be more visually impressive, something that already seems to be happening with Starfield, but Microsoft can help make sure that Bethesda's games are more polished before release. With Fallout having a reputation of being buggy, this could be a welcome change of pace.
So far, one specific resource that Fallout 5 is anticipated to take advantage of is the new Creation Engine 2 that Starfield is using. Other than the new engine, though, it’s far too early to accurately gauge what else to expect from Fallout 5 with specifics. At the same time, given how distant Fallout 5’s release date is speculated to be, there are bound to be several overall improvements over the previous Fallout game. With over a decade between releases being a legitimate possibility, the differences between the gameplay, visuals, and overall polish of Fallout 5 and its predecessor could be night and day.