For nearly seven years, Bethesda Game Studios has allowed millions of players worldwide to live out the early years of the United States of America’s nuclear post-apocalypse inFallout 76. Set primarily in the ruins of West Virginia, Bethesda has consistently introduced expansions forFallout 76, offering players the opportunity to explore other regions of the irradiated U.S. such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey. WhileFallout 76is a multiplayer spin-off, its expansions have added new canonical lore in the years shortly following the Great War. WithFallout 76remaining fairly popular and introducing new aspects of the irritated U.S., Bethesda should consider havingFallout 5be set earlier inFallout’s timeline.
Fallout’s Game and Show Timeline Explained
BesidesFallout 76, every mainlineFalloutgame has taken place years if not decades after its predecessor:
Amazon Prime’sFalloutshowcontinued theFalloutgame’s timeline trend by being set in 2296, nine years after the events ofFallout 4. WhileFalloutgames have been developed afterFallout 2that were set before the adventures of The Chosen One, such as 2001’sFallout Tacticsand 2004’sFallout: Brotherhood of Steel, none of those games are considered canon. In a way, Bethesda’s handling of theFallouttimeline mirrors its handling ofThe Elder Scrolls’timeline, with each mainlineElder Scrollsgame taking place after the other except forthe MMOThe Elder Scrolls Online.
While little is still known aboutThe Elder Scrolls 6, it is expected to take place sometime after the events ofThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.
The Potential of Fallout 5 Being Set In The Past
Fallout 76showed off how wild and untamed the United States was shortly after the bombs dropped, with several variants of Ghouls andmutated animals such as Mothmen, Mega Sloths, and Scorchbeastsinhabiting the radioactive landscapes. While most of these creatures spawned from failed Enclave experiments and were said to have been mostly killed off by Vault residents and other settlements, they could still appear in otherFalloutgames in reduced numbers. Vault 76’s inhabitants additionally showcased how difficult it was for people to establish new societies and footholds within the wasteland, with the Brotherhood of Steel requiring their help to survive in Appalachia.
Fallout 5doesn’t necessarily have to be set in or near West Virginia, but it could be set in other parts of the United States at any point in time following the Great War. For example, severalFalloutgames have referenced a splinter group of the Brotherhood located in the ruins of Chicago. While this faction is based on the now non-canonBrotherhood chapter fromFallout Tactics, it could still form a basis for a new single-player RPG set near The Great Lakes, which have so far been unexplored in modernFallouttitles. InFallout Tactics, this faction was said to be established around 2198, but Bethesda could always change that point of origin for a properFalloutgame set in the Midwest.
The Benefits of a Prequel Fallout 5
The next new mainlineFalloutgame release, aside fromrumoredFallout 3andFalloutNew Vegasremasters, is expected to be years away from launch, with it expected to debut after the release ofThe Elder Scrolls 6. However, with the Amazon PrimeFalloutshow building on much of the developments fromFallout 4andNew Vegas, it may be better forFallout 5to take place earlier in the timeline so that its story won’t conflict with the show’s developments. By havingFallout 5take place afterFallout 76but beforeFallout 3and setting it in a relatively unexplored region of the U.S., Bethesda would have freedom to create new stories and factions without worrying about conflicting with other projects.
