| Megaton | |
|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Fallout_3_Megaton.png) Megaton, as seen facing towards the town's center from above | |
| First appearance | Fallout 3 (2008) |
| Created by | Bethesda Softworks |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| In-universe information | |
| Type | Town |
| Location | Capital Wasteland |
| Characters | Lucas Simms, Moira Brown, Billy Creel, Confessor Cromwell |
| Population | 28 named characters |
Megaton is a fictional town in the video game Fallout 3, part of the post-apocalyptic Fallout franchise. Located in the Capital Wasteland, the former Washington metropolitan area, Megaton is a fortified settlement housing dozens of survivors from a devastating nuclear war, constructed out of scrap metal and other scavenged materials. It is roughly situated in McLean, Virginia. Megaton has gained recognition from critics for its visual design, its inhabitants, as well as a quest, The Power of the Atom, involving a dud "C-23 Megaton" nuclear bomb located in the center of town. While the townspeople believe the bomb to be inert, it is revealed that the warhead is still primed. The player may choose to disarm the bomb permanently, or detonate it from the nearby Tenpenny Tower to appease Allistair Tenpenny, an eccentric entrepreneur who wants Megaton destroyed. This moral choice, which can result in Megaton's permanent annihilation and the deaths of most of its residents, proved controversial and led to the game being censored for Japanese audiences, due to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.