Highlights

  • Fallout 5 could be set in San Francisco, potentially bringing a geographical refresh to the series and exploring a new location on the West Coast.
  • References to San Francisco in Fallout 4, particularly through the character Kellogg, have sparked speculation among fans about the city's significance in the next game.
  • While this speculation is mere guesswork and has not been confirmed by Bethesda, San Francisco offers a promising setting for Fallout 5, although fans will have to wait for more information from the developer.

The Fallout franchise is known for taking its players to vastly different locations with each entry, which goes a long way toward making each game feel immediately unique. While fans have spent a good deal of time speculating about different potential settings for the fifth Fallout game, there is one city that has gotten more attention than others: San Francisco.

Given its relatively grounded and gritty science-fiction premise, Fallout is fertile ground for the exploration, analysis, and deconstruction of various real-world locations. Its retrofuturistic aesthetic, alternate historical takes on entities like China, the Soviet Union, and the United States, and its reflections on aspects of American history, both real and imagined, all add up to make for enthralling open-world RPGs. Naturally, where each Fallout game is set plays a major role in the cumulative tone and thematic makeup of the experience, so the setting of Fallout 5 is no small detail.

Locations Visited in Fallout Games and DLC

  • California (Fallout 1 and Fallout 2)
  • Washington, D.C. (Fallout 3)
  • Anchorage, Alaska (Fallout 3)
  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Fallout 3)
  • Maryland (Fallout 3)
  • Las Vegas, Nevada and the Mojave Desert (Fallout: New Vegas)
  • Zion National Park, Utah (Fallout: New Vegas)
  • Massachusetts (Fallout 4)
  • Maine (Fallout 4)
  • West Virginia (Fallout 76)
Fallout 4 Hancock sitting in a chair with cup in hand
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Why Fans Think Fallout 5 May Take Place in San Francisco

Fallout 4 Conrad Kellogg (reunion)

A Return to Fallout's Roots

Looking at all the locations featured in the Fallout franchise following the first two games, it's clear that Bethesda seems to greatly favor the American East Coast. This can be viewed as Bethesda Game Studios attempting to distance the modern generation of games from the old generation, literally putting the contemporary releases on the opposite side of the country. Even if this was BGS' intention at one point, though, the franchise is now associated with the East Coast, which has been almost exhausted by everything that came after Fallout 2, so perhaps Fallout 5 heading back west would be a geographical refresh that could help the series.

Hints About San Francisco in Fallout 4

Though many Fallout fans are hoping for a game set in New Orleans, others suggest that Bethesda Game Studios has already decided on San Francisco based on references to the city in Fallout 4. There are a few references to the city throughout the game, with most of them being minor and alongside the mention of other cities, but the most notable references to San Francisco relate to Kellogg, one of the game's main antagonists.

It's revealed that, before coming to the Commonwealth, Kellogg lived in San Francisco, where he worked for The Shi, a notable faction on the West Coast that was prominently featured in the early Fallout games. There are also references to the New California Republic, confirming that the West Coast entity is still in power. Since Bethesda has a history of foreshadowing plot elements and setting of sequel games, some have taken these details as hints that San Francisco could play a significant role in the next entry. Since Kellogg's San Francisco backstory doesn't seem to otherwise have too great an impact on the plot, the notion that it is being used to hint at a future game seems somewhat plausible.

It's important to note that this is simply speculation and has not been confirmed by Bethesda. The San Francisco references in Fallout 4 could hint at Fallout 5's setting, but they could just as well be throwaway lines or included solely to flesh out the Fallout world. San Francisco does seem like a promising city to visit, but until more information is revealed by Bethesda, Fallout 5's map and setting are something fans will just have to keep imagining or hoping for.