Fallout (franchise)

For other uses, see Fallout (disambiguation).

Fallout
Genre(s)
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Creator(s)
Platform(s)
First releaseFallout
October 10, 1997
Latest releaseFallout 76
November 14, 2018

Fallout is a media franchise of post-apocalyptic role-playing video games created by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky,[1][2] at Interplay Entertainment. The series is set during the first half of the 3rd millennium, and its atompunk retrofuturistic setting and artwork are influenced by the post-war culture of the 1950s United States, with its combination of hope for the promises of technology and the lurking fear of nuclear annihilation. Fallout is regarded as a spiritual successor to Wasteland, a 1988 game developed by Interplay Productions.

The series' first title, Fallout, was developed by Black Isle Studios and released in 1997, and its sequel, Fallout 2, the following year. With the tactical role-playing game Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, development was handed to Micro Forté and 14 Degrees East. In 2004, Interplay closed Black Isle Studios,[3] and continued to produce Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, an action game with role-playing elements for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, without Black Isle Studios. Fallout 3, the third entry in the main series, was released in 2008 by Bethesda Softworks, and was followed by Fallout: New Vegas, developed by Obsidian Entertainment released on October 19, 2010. Fallout 4 was released in 2015, and Fallout 76 released on November 14, 2018.

Bethesda Softworks owns the rights to the Fallout intellectual property.[4] After acquiring it, Bethesda licensed the rights to make a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) version of Fallout to Interplay. The MMORPG got as far as beta stage under Interplay,[5] but a prolonged legal battle between Bethesda Softworks and Interplay disrupted the development of the game, eventually resulting in its cancellation. Bethesda argued in court that Interplay had failed to fulfill the terms and conditions of the licensing contract. The case reached a resolution in early 2012.[6]

  1. ^ Middler, Jordan (January 4, 2024). "Fallout creator Tim Cain is consulting on The Outer Worlds 2". VGC. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  2. ^ Dransfield, Ian (October 4, 2018). "The History of Fallout". Retro Gamer (186): 21.
  3. ^ "Q&A: Feargus Urquhart, Part One". GameSpot.com. October 28, 2008. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  4. ^ "Contract between Bethesda and Interplay Entertainment Corp". April 9, 2007. Retrieved May 16, 2007.
  5. ^ "Beta Status for Fallout Online". Betawatcher.com. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  6. ^ "Bethesda acquires Fallout MMO rights". Gameinformer.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2013.