Highlights
- Fans want Obsidian to make another Fallout game to bring back the design sensibilities of New Vegas and open up new possibilities for the series.
- Bethesda's long development cycles mean that it will be a while before we hear news about Fallout 5, so allowing other developers like Obsidian to fill the gap makes sense.
- Obsidian is the ideal choice to continue the West Coast storyline and explore a rebuilt society in the Fallout universe, moving beyond the post-apocalyptic setting.
Ever since the release of Fallout: New Vegas, fans have been clamoring for another Obsidian-led entry in the Fallout franchise. This comes especially after Fallout 4 was looked at by many hardcore fans as a somewhat concerning deviation from the norm. New Vegas, on the other hand, has only received more praise over time, with many lamenting the fact that Bethesda seemed to learn very little from its example.
Fallout: New Vegas Mods That Completely Change the Game
Although Fallout New Vegas is a brilliant game, several modders have found ways to completely revamp the RPG classic.
Of course, modern Fallout games do have improvements of their own, particularly in scale and gun combat. It would be great to see Obsidian make a return to the franchise and marry some of these improvements with their own design sensibilities, as well as open the door to other possibilities with the long-running post-apocalyptic series in the process.
5 Bethesda's Long Development Cycles
It'll Be A While Before We Get News About Fallout 5
It's no secret that Bethesda likes to take its time when developing games nowadays. While the difference between The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3 was only two years, for example, the development cycle between Fallout 4 and Starfield ballooned to eight years. Worse still, the last Elder Scrolls game, Skyrim, was released in 2011, while the next one is not expected to be released until the late 2020s if not the early 2030s. No Fallout game is slated for release from Bethesda any time soon, as the sequel to Skyrim needs to come out first.
Within this time frame, it would be wise for Microsoft to consider allowing other developers outside Bethesda to fill this gap and take advantage of the IP at least once within the next fifteen years at best. Given Obsidian's history, not just as a developer famous for making sequels to beloved games but with the Fallout franchise especially, it would be a no-brainer to let them have another shot.
4 Continue the West Coast Storyline
The Mojave Express Postal Service Has More Work To Do
The last time players heard anything about the status of the western half of the former United States was in Fallout: New Vegas. Fallout 3, 4 and 76all take place on the East coast, which features a mostly separate storyline. The West Coast, however, is where the story of Fallout began, when the first game was released back in 1997.
Every Fallout Game In Chronological Order
Every game was not released in the historical chronological order of the post-apocalyptic alternate timeline world of the Fallout series.
Fallout 1's narrative around the Vault Dweller and Super Mutants led to the founding of the New California Republic, which would be a major force in Fallout 2. By Fallout: New Vegas, the NCR has expanded into Nevada after having civilized most if not all of California and its neighboring states. This ongoing narrative has virtually never been touched by Bethesda. Obsidian, given that it is comprised partly of ex-Interplay and Black Isle developers (Fallout's creators), is the only real choice to continue this story in the foreseeable future.
3 Experiment With Unique World Design
Into The Post-Post-Apocalypse
Fallout is obviously synonymous with the retro-futuristic post-apocalypse. Not only was the first game in the series iconic for this reason, Bethesda wisely tapped into this exact style upon resurrecting the series. Fallout, however, does have the potential to move beyond this, and Obsidian is the perfect developer to do this. Specifically, in continuing the story on the West Coast, Fallout has a chance to move beyond its post-apocalypse setting and feature games set in what is essentially a rebuilt society.
Fallout Setting Tier List
The Fallout series is home to several sprawling wastelands, but some of its post-apocalyptic locations have proven to be a cut above the rest.
In the lore, it's well known that NCR territory is no longer the dangerous and untamed wasteland that it once was. There are major cities like Arroyo, Vault City, New Reno, and others that aren't just surviving, but thriving. The old games gave players a glimpse at this, but a modern 3D RPG could really expand on the idea. It'd almost be like doing a Cyberpunk 2077-style game except it's set in the Fallout universe.
2 Revisit Classic RPG Roots
Obsidian Are Masters Of Deep RPGs
While Bethesda seems adamant about simplifying their game design, choosing instead to focus on sheer breadth of content and the player's ability to explore it, rather than mechanical depth or narrative choices. Obsidian, on the other hand, has always been known for making more mechanically complex games by comparison and for giving the player more agency in the narrative.
This can be seen in New Vegas, which, compared to Fallout 3, offered much more choice and expanded on virtually every major system in the game. The Outer Worlds is also considerably deeper than Fallout 4 is (although it makes concessions elsewhere). A proper Obsidian-developed title would mean a return to this style of game, one that has more in common with Fallout 1 and 2 than Fallout 4.
1 Normalize Outside Development
Give Other Studios The Fallout Reins
One of the hopes in allowing Obsidian to make another Fallout game is that it will reopen the possibility of even more developers being given an opportunity to make games in the series. These don't even have to be true RPGs either. There's a multitude of genres the Fallout series can be adapted for, almost like the Warhammer 40K or XCOM series have been. Imagine a linear FPS game set during the Resource Wars, or a Hearts of Iron-style game featuring the emerging nations of the wasteland.
Best Cyberpunk Strategy Games, Ranked
The strategy genre has always had a soft spot for cyberpunk settings.
With a diverse pool of developers at the helm, many new ideas are suddenly possible, and it gives a wider variety of players a chance to engage with the series. It all begins, however, with Obsidian (or some other developer) being given a shot in the first place.
