Bethesda Grabs Fallout

[A Black Falcon]

Good news, mostly. On the good side, Fallout lives. On the bad side, it's not a Black Isle-influenced developer -- it's Bethesda, makers of The Elder Scrolls, not Troika (main developer is the creator of the first Fallout. Makers of Arcanum and The Temple of Elemental Evil.), Obsidian (mostly escapees of Black Isle's other team (IWD, Torment), working on KOTOR II), Bioware, or, maybe, InXile (the founder of Interplay's new company... but not so much BIS people...). So that means that it'll be different... I wonder how much it'll end up playing like Fallout. Great, great RPG... I hope it stays like it is! But, reading this, that's unlikely. I doubt it'll be isometric, for sure, and turn-based combat? I wouldn't bet much on it. But I think that Fallout with realtime combat wouldn't be the same Fallout so I really, really hope that they keep a turnbased combat system.

Oh, and being the TES developers they'll have to work on making a coherent and not too long story. Fallout always has had a large open-ended element but it has also had a good main story to follow... TES doesn't exactly match up in that category.

July 12, 2004 - In an move sure to bring sizzling joy to PC gamers everywhere, Bethesda Softworks has just announced that it has obtained the rights to develop and publish Fallout 3, as well as additional games in the Fallout franchise, on the PC and across all consoles. The company obtained the rights from Interplay, the original home of the lauded post-apocalyptic RPG series.

Very few details on Fallout 3 have been revealed, but it's tantalizing to speculate on what Bethesda can do with the license, given their success with The Elder Scrolls series. A Bethesda spokesman clarified that the company has been looking at acquiring the Fallout license for some time. Additionally, Bethesda explained that the only definite platform for Fallout 3 is the PC, though given that the new license rights allow for development and publication on all consoles, it's safe to assume Bethesda has plans in this space as well.

"We're extremely excited about this opportunity and what it means both for Bethesda and for Fallout fans around the world," said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. "Fallout is one of the great RPG franchises. Millions of Fallout games have been sold worldwide, and fans have been eagerly awaiting the release of a Fallout 3 title. Bethesda's proven expertise in this genre, building on our experience and the tremendous success we have enjoyed with our cutting-edge Elder Scrolls series, will enable us to create the next chapter of Fallout that is worthy of the franchise."

Bethesda will develop Fallout 3 alongside the next Elder Scrolls title, both under the direction of Todd Howard.

"We are overjoyed," said Howard. "Fallout is one of my favorite games, and we plan to develop a visually stunning and original game for Fallout 3 with all the hallmarks of a great RPG: player choice, engaging story, and non-linearity."

As these things usually go, Bethesda's big announcement of course leaves plenty of questions to be answered, and the company is keeping most details under wraps for now, including game details and possible release schedule. Information is sure to be revealed as development progresses, and you can bet we'll be bothering the good folks at Bethesda for more tasty details in the meantime. Stay tuned.

July 12, 2004 - As our readers likely already know, Bethesda Softworks has just announced that it will develop and publish Fallout 3, as well as possible future Fallout titles, finally reinvigorating a PC RPG franchise which had too long remained dormant.

Fallout and Fallout 2, released in 1997 and 1998 respectively, quickly became two of the most acclaimed RPG titles created for the PC. Their gritty post-apocalyptic setting, compelling story, and superb art direction gained plenty of enthusiastic fans while raising the standard for the RPG genre in general.

Since the release of Fallout 2, hopes and speculation for a third title in the series have been rampant. Original developer Black Isle was allegedly at work on a third game, with many assuming that its mysterious "Van Buren" project was indeed Fallout 3. With that studio's closure, however, the fate of Fallout 3 became uncertain, with the only hope being Interplay's assurance that the Fallout franchise was far from dead.

Today's announcement should give Fallout fans -- and fans of RPGs in general -- plenty to be excited about. With the acclaimed Elder Scrolls series, and Morrowind in particular, the folks at Bethesda have proved themselves more than capable of developing masterful RPGs.

What does a Bethesda-produced Fallout entail? We caught up with the company's Pete Hines for more details.

IGNPC: We'll just start with the tough questions first. Exactly what is the game and when is it coming out?

Pete Hines: When it's coming out we're way too far out to talk about. What is the game? The real answer I can give is that we're intending to make Fallout 3, the sequel to Fallout 2. We've licensed the rights to Fallout, which includes everything except the MMO project Interplay announced a few weeks ago. Our intention is to do Fallout 3, and whatever you would think that to mean is probably exactly what it is.

IGNPC: Fallout 3 as a sequel to the PC titles, as opposed to Interplay's action-RPG titles.

Pete Hines: Right. We're not doing a follow-up to Brotherhood of Steel.

IGNPC: Interplay is still working on the Fallout MMORPG it had announced. Does this mean Interplay still owns the Fallout intellectual property?

Pete Hines: Yes. We've licensed the rights to Fallout 3 as well as sequels -- Fallout 4, Fallout 5.

IGNPC: Can you tell us how long Bethesda has had its eye on Fallout?

Pete Hines: A pretty long time. For the majority of five years we've said, internally, that if we could pick another game to develop internally, it's been that we could do a great Fallout game. It's something we've talked about internally for a very long time.

IGNPC: Is Fallout 3 something that Bethesda is making its own?

Pete Hines: Absolutely. It's being developed by us, by Bethesda Softworks. It isn't being developed externally. It's being managed by Todd Howard, who is also the executive producer of The Elder Scrolls.

IGNPC: So we can assume that whatever work was done over at Black Isle on Fallout 3 -- the "Van Buren" project -- is not being used?

Pete Hines: It's a little too early to talk about whether we'd be using any assets.

IGNPC: But gamers can assume this will be a continuation of the Fallout storyline.

Pete Hines: Yes.

IGNPC: Can we expect something similar to the work done on Morrowind, in terms of that style of game experience?

Pete Hines: Again, it's early to say, but it wouldn't be a leap of faith to say that we plan to use technologies in development otherwise. You could make some fairly safe leaps of faith that it would be similar in style. We're not going to go away from what it is that we do best. We're not going to suddenly do a top-down isometric Baldur's Gate-style game, because that's not what we do well.

IGNPC: You've confirmed that Fallout 3 is definitely coming to PC. Can you clarify console plans?

Pete Hines: Our intention is to do a multiple platform title. Which platforms that will be, it's too early to say.

IGNPC: I assume you also can't say whether we're talking about current- or next-generation consoles.

Pete Hines: Yes, that would be premature.

IGNPC: What does this mean for Bethesda going forward?

Pete Hines: We've got another very cool role playing license to work with, and we plan to continue to strengthen our position as one of the leading creators of cool role-playing games for multiple platforms. That's our desire, and we think that Fallout 3 points us in the right direction to do that.

IGNPC: Can you give us an idea of when we can expect more details?

Pete Hines: It's going to be a ways out. We haven't even announced the next Elder Scrolls project yet. Obviously we've been doing something for a while. From a development standpoint, from a gamers-making-Christmas-lists standpoint, it's very early at this stage to be talking specifics. When we have more info, we'll certainly let people know.