Today, Bethesda director Todd Howard delivered a long statement in which he laid out the future of Bethesda Game Studios following a series of devastating layoffs across all of Xbox, including Bethesda. In his statement, Howard shared updates on a number of new and ongoing and projects, including four upcoming Fallout games: Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 3 remasters, a mystery Fallout project in collaboration with Obsidian, and Fallout 5, which is now in preproduction.
In his statement, Howard shared that Bethesda appears to be going hard on Fallout in the coming years. For Fallout 76, a major expansion is planned next year entitled Raven Rock, which is a prequel to Fallout 3. Fallout 3 itself, as well as New Vegas, have remasters in the works which Howard finally confirmed after months of rumors, though Howard did not specify how far along in development those are. Fallout Shelter remains an active game, and some sort of unscripted TV project based on the mobile title is in the works with Amazon and Kilter Films, even as production continues on season 3 of the existing Fallout series.
Howard confirmed that Obsidian is working on a new, previously-reported-on Fallout game in collaboration with Bethesda. Obsidian is reportedly working on this in lieu of a sequel to Avowed, after it lost roughly a fourth of its staff to Xbox layoffs.
Later in the note, Howard also provided updates on Starfield. And he stated that while The Elder Scrolls VI is the studio’s main focus, Fallout 5 is currently in preproduction in Creation Engine 3, a step up from the engine used in Starfield. Howard hasn’t been shy about talking about Fallout 5 in the past, having mentioned it as far back as 2018 and as recently as last December.
Here’s Howard’s full statement on Fallout:
Fallout is one of our biggest priorities today. Fallout 5 remains our long-range destination, and we have multiple Fallout projects in active development right now.
Fallout 76 continues to be home to millions of players exploring Appalachia together. With nearly 70 free updates released to date, the journey is far from over. In fact, we have a major Fallout 76 expansion planned for next year: Raven Rock, a prequel story to Fallout 3.
Fallout 4, the most award-winning game in the franchise, just celebrated its 10-year anniversary and recently passed over 35 million copies sold, continuing to attract a new audience every year.
We also know many players want to revisit previous Fallout experiences. While we’re not announcing any dates today, we have been working on remasters for both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.
Fallout Shelter continues to be the most popular way to experience Fallout on the go, with more than 250 million players. There’s more ahead for Fallout Shelter, including new Seasons. An unscripted Fallout Shelter television project is also in the works with our partners at Amazon Studios and Kilter Films.
We’d like to congratulate Kilter Films and Amazon Studios on the 10 Emmy nominations for Fallout Season 2. Production on Season 3 is already underway.
And while we won’t host a traditional Fallout Day broadcast this year, we’re already planning something special for Fallout‘s 30th anniversary in 2027, when Fallout Day will be celebrated live in Washington, D.C.