Asha Sharma seems like the gift that keeps on giving. Ever since Microsoft’s gaming leadership started talking more openly about getting its biggest franchises into players’ hands faster, this latest Bethesda update feels less like a surprise and more like the natural next step.
If you’ve followed Bethesda over the last decade, none of this should be particularly shocking. My disappointment with Bethesda has been public knowledge for a while now, and it isn’t exactly some scorching hot take. It’s become the general consensus for a reason.
Bethesda Game Studios simply hasn’t released any new single-player RPGs in recent years, and expecting fans to patiently wait another decade for Fallout 5 was never going to be a winning strategy. I’m just going to exclude Starfield after the whole fiasco, and we will swiftly move on to better news now.
Bethesda’s Fallout 5 Is Officially Moving, But Don’t Start Counting Days
The headline announcement is exactly what people wanted to hear: Bethesda’s Fallout 5 is officially in pre-production.
The studio once again confirmed that The Elder Scrolls VI remains its primary focus, with most of Bethesda Game Studios still working on Tamriel rather than the wasteland. Fallout 5 is what Bethesda calls its “long-range destination,” which is a polite way of saying you shouldn’t expect to be playing it anytime soon.
That said, pre-production is where the major decisions start happening. World concepts, gameplay systems, technical planning, and the overall direction of the project all begin taking shape here.
Bethesda also confirmed that both The Elder Scrolls VI and Bethesda Fallout 5 will use Creation Engine 3, which should hopefully mean the studio isn’t rebuilding its technology from scratch every single generation.
We still know absolutely nothing about where Fallout 5 is set, who we’ll be playing as, or even what platforms it’ll launch on. If you see anyone confidently talking about the game’s location or story, they’re guessing just as much as everyone else.
The Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas Remaster Feel Like the Right Call
If I’m being honest, the announcement of a Fallout 3 remaster and Fallout New Vegas remaster was probably the least surprising part of the entire presentation.
Bethesda has a massive gap to fill before Fallout 5 arrives, and revisiting two of the franchise’s most beloved games is a sensible way to keep the series alive without rushing a brand-new RPG out the door.
Fallout 3 introduced an entire generation of players to Bethesda’s version of the wasteland, while New Vegas has only become more respected with age. Fifteen years later, it’s still the benchmark many fans use when talking about player choice, role-playing, and world-building.
For me, the most exciting part of Bethesda’s update wasn’t Fallout 5 or even the remasters. It was the confirmation that Obsidian Entertainment is developing another Fallout project.
I am just as stoked as any other fan to know Obsidian Studios is going to be working on their golden goose again after all these years. Considering the small budget and bootstrapped environment that created decent titles like The Outer Worlds and its sequel, I know they have what it takes to pull this off. Plus, no more shall we have to look for a Fallout: New Vegas modding guide to get by!
My Oblivion Remastered Experience Left Me Wanting More
As excited as I am to revisit both games, I do think players should approach these announcements with a healthy amount of caution.
I recently played through the new Oblivion remaster. While I enjoyed finally stepping back into Cyrodiil, I walked away feeling like it was a fan-made project, maybe because of Unreal Engine. Maybe because of the hilarious running animation, you’ll just have to find out why by reading that article.
But the best part is, we have all been looking for a prettier version of Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 3. If Bethesda is simply increasing the resolution and adding better lighting while leaving everything else untouched, that’s one thing. If it’s rebuilding that NCR ranger armour from scratch and adding a new 357 magnum revolver, I’d be happy.
It Finally Feels Like Fallout Has a Future Again (And We Are A Part of It)
More than anything else, this announcement tells me Bethesda will finally get some divine retribution for pumping out Skyrim for your Samsung Smart Fridge for the 15th time.
Instead of forcing Fallout fans to sit through another decade-long silence while The Elder Scrolls VI takes centre stage, the company is spreading the workload around.
Bethesda Game Studios continues developing Elder Scrolls VI, Fallout 5 slowly moves through pre-production, and Obsidian gets its own Fallout project that fans will die for. Why does this W feel so rare? It’s almost like a Fallout 4 radiant quest, everyone wins, and no one is offended!
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