Earlier this week Bethesda teased the world with a short and cryptic video features a record and some barbed wire. This caused an explosion of rumors, most of which pointed at the release of Fallout 4. Sadly the hype wasn’t about the next post-apocalyptic RPG as instead it was about a new survival-horror game called The Evil Within (more about that here). That sudden stir about Fallout got me thinking though, how long will it be until we can finally get another dose of Fallout and what can we expect it to be like?
Location?
In terms of Fallout, its most redeeming element would have to be its open-world nature and the fantastic environments you explore. That said, it probably comes as no surprise that location, location, location is on everyone’s minds when considering the next Fallout game. We’ve already visited the vast Washington D.C. and the desolate Nevada desert, so where to next? Most rumors will have you think Boston. Reddit blew up with people claiming to have seen Bethesda performing research in and around Boston. There was also a post from a potential employee at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who have been rumored to be aiding Bethesda in their research with Fallout 4. He was quoted saying:
“Fallout 4 will take place in Boston. In case you haven’t heard, Bethesda has recently been scoping out and researching Boston. They also have a strong connection to MIT. I may or may not be an MIT employee. But that’s really all I can say for fear of losing my job. I am telling you it will take place in Boston.”
Boston would also make sense within the Fallout universe; this is mainly due to the link from Dr. Zimmer in Fallout 3 who mentions the Commonwealth, which is said to be in Boston. (Image below). Along with the strong rumors of Boston, many forum posts have created speculation about Fallout 4 taking place in New York City, the United Kingdom, and some even hope for Australia. Personally it seems unlikely for Bethesda to migrate to another country at the moment due to story integration, but the prospect of battling a Radroach in the irradiated outback doesn’t sound too implausible.
Fallout 4 Will be an MMO?
As I’m sure many of you Fallout fans will be aware, the franchise has been the epicentre of a dirty legal battle, which many felt would jeopardise future game releases. During this time it was released that among the rights to the franchise was rights to produce an MMO version of the universe causing many to believe the next game would in fact be a Fallout MMO rather than the desired Fallout 4. As it stands now, Bethesda own all the rights to the franchise as they do with The Elder Scrolls franchise, however the likelihood of the next Fallout game being an MMO is slim considering the impending release of The Elder Scrolls Online. It’s doubtful that the company would steal its own thunder from such a big release with another MMO, so all signs point to a good old-fashioned RPG format Fallout 4.
Likelihood of Ever Existing?
Let’s take a look at a few of the current pies Bethesda have its fingers in: Rage, slated for a second game; Doom 3, which was used to test the water for a Doom 4; Dishonored, which has just seen its first DLC; The Elder Scrolls Online, which is due later this year; and Skyrim for which all DLC has been released and is considered ‘finished’. That’s quite a few games on the go, so where does Fallout come in? Well as it happens many of the aforementioned games are being developed/run but other studios such as Arkane Studios, who are running the Dishonored show. This means that Bethesda themselves aren’t particularly swamped with development jobs and therefore can put their effort into developing another Fallout game.
Pete Hines (Bethesda Softworks Vice-President) has also been quoted stating that:
“The whole reason we went out and acquired the license and that we now own Fallout is that we clearly intend to make more than one.”
That sounds like a Fallout 4 confirmation if ever I’ve heard one.
Release Date?
So we know it’s coming, but when? Well as far as a release date goes, it’s highly likely that we will see Fallout 4 on the next generation of consoles rather than the current generation. Considering the PS4 is due this October and the yet-to-be-announced-but-definitely-will-be Xbox 720 is also slated for a holiday season release, logic would indicate that Fallout 4 would be released in 2014 for the next gen. The voice actor of Three Dog (Erik Todd Dellums) has also indicated in a tweet back in January (below) that he’ll possibly be returning to voice act for the character in another Fallout game “soon” which again, indicates to a possible 2014 and next generation release.
Just to reiterate, this is speculation and hope in regards to Fallout 4, as literally nothing concrete has leaked about this game. Take everything with a pinch of salt. If you have anything you think would be cool for Fallout 4 including setting, enemies, and potential release dates, then please share your speculation below!
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