From a post-apocalyptic New Vegas to mutant-ridden wastelands, the Fallout franchise has never been lacking in variety. While little is known about Fallout 5, it will undoubtedly continue the trend of taking players to a unique, new locale. However, the next installment has the potential to take the player somewhere that's literally out of this world.
With Starfield's release date approach, the idea of exploring outer space in a Bethesda game is closer to reality more than ever. Doing something similar in Fallout 5 by taking the player to the moon would bring the game to new heights. It could even work by bringing in pre-established concepts found in previous Fallout games.
The History of Fallout's Moon
Fallout's history of space exploration has been sparse, with players only leaving Earth during the Mothership Zeta DLC from Fallout 3. With that said, various references to manmade spacecrafts and traveling methods have been brought up throughout the franchise. One of the endings of Fallout: New Vegas has a character named Mr. House promising the main character that space travel would become a reality under his supervision, for example. Between Fallout's alien presence and explicit references to the moon landing, there's ample precedent for players to make a trip up to the moon.
While it may seem odd for Fallout to leave Earth for more than a DLC story, there have been instances of characters trying to visit outer space on their own. For example, a quest in Fallout: New Vegas called "Come Fly With Me" sees the player assist a group of ghouls in visiting a place called the "Great Beyond." On completion of the quest, the ghouls will be launched in a spaceship, never to be seen again - though one of the game's ending slides details that this group of ghouls actually returns to a city nearby to help defend it. While this interaction could be a red herring, it does suggest the idea that the ghouls may have been able to visit and then return from outer space.
However, when speaking of the moon as a viable location, one instance is worth noting above all. In Fallout 4, the player can find references to the "Sea of Tranquility Conflict," which was a battle that took place on the moon - likely against China, as the mural also mentions the Battle of Anchorage. This strongly suggests that the technology to transport soldiers and artillery existed at the height of Fallout's Sino-American War. It also could be foreshadowing a future conflict that players will have to take care of.
If that's the case, it may be easy for Fallout 5 to justify the inclusion of the moon as a possible location. In the original plans for Fallout 3, when the franchise was still owned by Black Isle Studios, one draft included the existence of an explorable space station called B.O.M.B. 001. Bethesda could revisit this idea, possibly placing this space station on the moon. It would make a good callback to Starfield's space exploration, utilizing the experience and technology developed from making that game to create what could easily be one of Fallout's most iconic locations.
Starfield serves as the perfect inspiration for a visit to the moon in Fallout. Revisiting space in a more fleshed-out form would be a great return to form for the Fallout franchise, possibly including a callback to the franchise's original developers while improving on Fallout's current formula in ways not seen before.
Fallout 5 has been confirmed by Bethesda Game Studios, but is not yet in active development.