War. War never changes.Ron Perlman

Fallout is a series of post-apocalyptic computer role-playing games originally produced and published by Interplay. Although set in and after the 22nd century, its story and artwork are heavily influenced by the post-World War II nuclear paranoia of the 1950s. The series is lightly based on the Mad Max film series, and is sometimes considered to be an unofficial sequel to Wasteland, but it could not use that title as Electronic Arts held the rights to it. In particular, Brian Fargo, one of the original developers of Wasteland, is noted in the intros of Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics, with the caption "Brian Fargo Presents", despite him not actually working on any of the games. Even though the Fallout series contains many references to items, persons, and scenarios found in Wasteland, the games are set in separate universes and are distinct from one another.

There have been five full role-playing titles in the series (Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4), one squad-based tactical RPG combat spin-off (Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel), one action RPG dungeon-crawler spin-off for PlayStation 2 and Xbox (Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel) and one simulation game for Android and iOS (Fallout Shelter). There was also an online MMORPG, Project V13, that was being developed at Interplay. However, after legal disputes, Bethesda removed the rights Interplay had, and the game production was completely halted.


Main article: Fallout world
GreatWar OWB intro

Great War

The background story of Fallout involves a "what-if" scenario in which the United States tries to devise fusion power resulting in the whole country becoming hegemonic and having less reliance on petroleum. However, this is not achieved until 2077, shortly after an oil drilling conflict off the Pacific Coast pits the United States against China. It ends with a nuclear exchange resulting in the post-apocalyptic world in which the game takes place.


Each installment of the series takes these facts as the context to the subsequent adventures: much of the landscape the player travels through is scarred with wreckage as well as radiation. These effects are not limited to the environment. Mutated survivors - those who lived through the attack outside a vault - are often physically unrecognizable as human. Even livestock - mostly represented by cows - are rarely if ever seen with fewer than two heads or an udder the size of their head.

Published games

Main games





Fallout box art

Main article: Fallout

Released in 1997 for DOS, Windows and Macintosh, Fallout is the spiritual successor to the 1988 hit Wasteland. The protagonist of the game is tasked with recovering a water chip to replace the chip that broke in his home, Vault 13. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic southern California, beginning in the year 2161. It was originally intended to run under the GURPS role-playing game system, but a disagreement with Steve Jackson, creator of GURPS, over the game's violent content required the development of a new system, the SPECIAL System. The atmosphere and artwork of Fallout are reminiscent of post-WWII America and the nuclear paranoia that was widespread at that time. Some key people who worked on Fallout later left Interplay and formed Troika Games.

Fallout 2


Fallout 2 box art

Main article: Fallout 2

Fallout 2 was released in 1998 for Windows and in 2002 for Mac, using a slightly-modified form of the engine used in the original Fallout. Taking place in 2241, 80 years after the original game, Fallout 2 centers around a descendant of the Vault Dweller, the protagonist of Fallout. The player assumes the role of the Chosen One as he tries to save Arroyo, his village, after several years of drought. The game featured several improvements over the first game, including the ability to set attitudes of non-player character party members and the ability to push people who are blocking doors. However, it also included several changes to the game world and a more focus on humor, including significantly more pop culture jokes and parodies.

Fallout 3

Fallout 3 cover art

Fallout 3 box art

Main article: Fallout 3



Fallout: New Vegas

FNV box art (US)

Fallout: New Vegas box art

Main article: Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout: New Vegas is a Fallout game built upon the same game engine used by Fallout 3, it was developed by Obsidian Entertainment which was announced by Bethesda. Fallout: New Vegas was released on October 19, 2010 in North America for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas in the year 2281, four years after Fallout 3. The protagonist is dug out of a shallow grave by a robot after being shot in the head. The game's plot centers around finding the main character's supposed assassin, and a three-way war between NCR, Caesar's Legion, and the citizens of New Vegas over Hoover Dam.

Fallout 4

Fallout 4 box cover

Fallout 4 box art

Main article: Fallout 4

Fallout 4 is a Fallout game developed and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was released on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 10, 2015, except in Japan, where it was released on December 17.

The game takes place in the year 2287, 10 years after the events of Fallout 3 (and six after New Vegas), in a post-apocalyptic Boston renamed "the Commonwealth." The story centers around the protagonist's son, Shaun, being kidnapped while they are in cryogenic sleep in Vault 111 and the protagonist's subsequent attempts to find their son amidst the controversy of a mysterious "Institute" reportedly replacing citizens of the Commonwealth with synths, androids meant to be as close to a human as possible.


Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel

Fallout Tactics Box

Fallout Tactics box art

Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel is a tactical combat game developed for Windows by Micro Forté and published by Interplay in early 2001 to mixed reviews. Although it was given high scores by reviewers (PC Gamer gave it an 85%), many fans were disappointed by the game. Fallout Tactics focuses on tactical combat rather than role-playing; the new combat system included different modes, stances, and modifiers, but the player had no dialogue options. Most of the criticisms of the game came from its incompatibility with the story of the original two games, not from its gameplay. Its important events are considered canon by new owner Bethesda Softworks, while everything else was deemed semi-canon. Tactics is the first Fallout game to not require the player to fight in a turn-based mode, and it is also the first to allow customization of skills, perks, and combat actions of the rest of the party. Fallout Tactics includes a multi-player mode that allows players to compete against squads of other characters controlled by other players. Unlike the previous two games, which are based in California, Fallout Tactics takes place in the Midwest.

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel

BoxArt FOB

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel box art


Fallout Shelter

Fallout Shelter GameFront

Fallout Shelter banner

Main article: Fallout Shelter

Fallout Shelter is a non-canon construction and management simulation game. The player acts as an Overseer for their own vault, and controls dwellers' jobs, adding rooms to the vault, managing resources, fighting off raiders and emergencies and more. Players are sometimes rewarded with lunchboxes that contain rewards, such as items or resources. Lunchboxes can also be purchased separately through microtransactions.

Fallout 76

Fallout 76 box cover

Fallout 76 box art

Main article: Fallout 76

Fallout 76 is a multiplayer Fallout game developed and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was announced on May 30, 2018, and released on November 14, 2018, for PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

The game takes place in Appalachia in 2102, twenty-five years after the Great War, and follows the story of Vault 76, one of the 17 known control vaults. The player character emerges from Vault 76 following a celebration of Reclamation Day, having been sent on a quest by the Overseer. The game is entirely online but solo play is possible via avoidance of other players.


Fallout Trilogy


Fallout Trilogy box art

Main article: Fallout Trilogy

Fallout Trilogy (also released internationally as Fallout Collection or Saga Fallout) is a compilation of the three PC games in the Fallout series, consisting of Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, published by Interplay and Kalipso.

Fallout Anthology


Fallout Anthlogy game collection

Main article: Fallout Anthology

Fallout Anthology is a collection of five Fallout games, Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout Tactics, as well as all of their add-ons. It was released on September 29, 2015, in North America and October 2 in Europe.

Other media

Fallout: Warfare

Fallout Warfare Logo

Fallout: Warfare cover

Main article: Fallout: Warfare


Bethesda Pinball's Fallout table

Main article: Bethesda Pinball

The Fallout table in Zen Studio's Bethesda Pinball collection, available as an add-on for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3, is a virtual pinball adaptation of Fallout 4. It was initially released as downloadable content on December 6, 2016, for a wide variety of platforms.

Fallout: The Board Game


Fallout: The Board Game box art

Fallout: The Board Game is a Fallout-themed board game published by Fantasy Flight Games. It is a tile-based game for one to four players, who can either compete or work together. Players can choose whether to play as a human, ghoul or super mutant. The player can also choose between four scenarios, taking place in the Capital Wasteland, the Pitt, the Commonwealth or Far Harbor. While exploring different location tiles, the players can gain equipment cards or special influence cards to advance their character. Each player also has a special character board, where they track equipment, hit points and radiation damage.

Fallout: Wasteland Warfare

Fallout Wasteland Warfare cover

Fallout: Wasteland Warfare box art

Fallout: Wasteland Warfare is a narrative skirmish wargame set in the Fallout universe. Published by Modiphius Entertainment, the game features singleplayer, multiplayer and Co-op play.

Canceled games

Possible future and hypothetical games

Unofficial games

Fallout series