I honestly can’t remember a time when Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas weren’t being compared to one another. One arrived in 2008, the other followed just two years later, and from that point on, Fallout fans basically picked a side and never even considered changing their minds. Now that Bethesda has officially confirmed Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas remasters are in development, one of the oldest arguments in modern RPG history is about to come roaring back.
Of course, I wouldn’t call this an actual rivalry between Bethesda and Obsidian, even though fans have spent years treating it like one. Bethesda is the one responsible for building the version of Fallout that actually made New Vegas possible, Obsidian took that foundation in a different direction, and both studios have repeatedly pushed back against the idea that there is any real bad blood between them. The rivalry has always belonged to the fans themselves, but giving everyone modern versions of both games around the same time is about as close as Bethesda could get to officially ringing the bell for round two.
Fallout 3 and New Vegas Have Been Compared From the Beginning
It’s worth mentioning that the comparison was always going to happen, even if Obsidian did everything in its power to prevent it. New Vegas looked like Fallout 3, played like Fallout 3, and reused much of the same technology, yet it approached nearly everything around that foundation differently. Anyone who played both could immediately tell they were related, but New Vegas was clearly not trying to be the same kind of RPG that Fallout 3 was.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)
Fallout 3 was the game that made wandering through the Wasteland feel like the whole point of the entire experience, and I’ll never forget it. Leaving Vault 101 and seeing the Capital Wasteland for the first time remains one of the best stepping-out moments Bethesda has ever made, and from there, I could pick a direction and just disappear for hours without realizing how much time had passed by the end of it. The main story was there when I wanted it, but it was usually whatever ruined building, underground tunnel, or strange radio signal I found along the way that kept me playing.
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The Capital Wasteland was also incredibly miserable, and I mean that sincerely as a compliment. Everything looked dead, broken, and one bad day away from getting even worse, which made every settlement or surviving group feel like a small miracle. New Vegas had plenty of atmosphere of its own, but it never gave me that same sense that I was walking through the remains of a world that had been completely erased.
Fallout 3 was the game that made wandering through the Wasteland feel like the whole point of the entire experience, and I’ll never forget it.
However, New Vegas did give myself and other players a much stronger reason to care about who controlled what was left. The NCR, Caesar’s Legion, Mr. House, and the option to take control for yourself created a conflict where I could spend an entire playthrough deciding who I trusted, then come back and make the opposite choice. Even smaller factions could react to what I had done, and my build regularly opened dialogue options or solutions that another character might never see.
Basically, Fallout 3 was an instant classic that made me want to explore, while New Vegas made me want to experiment. One kept pulling me toward whatever landmark I could see in the distance, and the other kept making me wonder how differently a quest might play out if I had invested in another skill. Fans have spent years arguing over which approach is better, but I think that says more about what each person wants from Fallout than it does about either game failing.
Fallout: New Vegas Wasn’t Great Out of the Gate—That Came Later
The funny thing is that New Vegas wasn’t always treated like the obvious winner even though it is seen as a crowning achievement in the RPG genre. It launched with a variety of bugs, reused almost everything it could from Fallout 3, and didn’t immediately receive the kind of universal praise it gets now. Rather, its reputation grew over time as more players started recognizing how much freedom Obsidian had jam-packed into its dialogue, factions, builds, and quest outcomes.
Somewhere along the way, the debate also became weirdly personal. A portion of the fan base started talking about New Vegas like Obsidian had walked into Bethesda’s house, borrowed all its tools, and then embarrassed it by making the game Bethesda should have made. I understand preferring Obsidian’s approach, but you can’t deny that New Vegas wouldn’t exist in that form without Bethesda first doing the difficult work of turning Fallout into an unforgettable first-person open-world RPG.
Also, Bethesda and Obsidian themselves have never seemed as interested in the fight as everyone else. Former developers have acknowledged what each studio brought to the series, and Bethesda’s Todd Howard has repeatedly rejected the idea that the studio somehow resents New Vegas for becoming so beloved. Honestly, the companies seem far more comfortable with both games existing than the fans who still treat every compliment toward one as an insult to the other.
The Fallout Remasters Are Going to Start the Whole Argument Over
The biggest difference this time is that players will be comparing modernized versions of these classic RPGs instead of just their memories with them. Fallout 3 launched in 2008, New Vegas followed in 2010, and both games are now old enough that nostalgia can cover a lot of cracks, just as it did with Oblivion Remastered. Once both of these remasters arrive, everyone gets to find out whether the game they have spent years defending still feels like the better one. It’ll be the ultimate showdown at that point.
I understand preferring Obsidian’s approach, but you can’t deny that New Vegas wouldn’t exist in that form without Bethesda first doing the difficult work of turning Fallout into an unforgettable first-person open-world RPG.
Fallout 3 stands to gain the most from modern controls and combat, though seeing it with modern visuals will be enough eye candy to make my blood sugar rise. I still love exploring the Capital Wasteland, but actually moving through it, aiming weapons, and dealing with the original interface can be rough now. Clean up the gunplay, improve movement, make the world easier to read, and Bethesda could remind people why this game completely dominated the RPG genre when it first launched.
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New Vegas has its own list of things that desperately need attention. Its writing and role-playing have aged well, but the original game has always felt like it is being held together by mods, patience, and, if I can say it without getting punched, pure luck. A remaster with better stability, smoother combat, faster loading, and fewer technical problems could finally let people experience why it is so loved without spending an evening researching which community fixes they need first.
Then comes the part where everyone starts comparing every detail again. Which wasteland is more enjoyable to explore? Which game has the better story, stronger factions, more interesting builds, and choices that still feel meaningful all these years later?
The remasters will also create a brand-new question about which game benefits most from being modernized. Fallout 3 could feel almost completely different if its combat and movement are rebuilt, while New Vegas may simply need its technical problems removed for its best qualities to stand out even more. Depending on how Bethesda handles each one, the remaster itself could become part of the rivalry.
Fallout 3 and New Vegas Have an Entirely New Generation of Players to Reach
There’s also an entire generation of players who know these games mostly through their reputations. Some have heard that Fallout 3 is the better Bethesda-style open world, while others have been told New Vegas is so much better that playing the older game is hardly worth the trouble. Giving both of them fresh releases means those players can finally make up their own minds without fighting outdated hardware or spending hours installing mods.
I doubt the new versions will settle anything, though. Fallout 3 fans will still argue that the Capital Wasteland is more interesting to explore, and New Vegas fans will still point to its factions, dialogue, and role-playing as proof that Obsidian understood the series better. Even if one remaster is clearly better made, people will probably find a way to separate the quality of the update from the quality of the original game. Of course, Bethesda could just shadow drop both of them in one package, then players could get the best of both worlds.
Fallout 3 could feel almost completely different if its combat and movement are rebuilt, while New Vegas may simply need its technical problems removed for its best qualities to stand out even more.
Personally, I’m more interested in seeing whether my own opinion changes. I’ve always understood why New Vegas is praised as the stronger RPG between the two, but there are still parts of Fallout 3 that have stuck with me in a way the Mojave never quite managed. Playing both again without all the old technical baggage might finally tell me whether I prefer one game or whether I have simply been comparing two very different memories.
At this point, Bethesda could release these remasters years apart and Fallout fans would still find a way to turn them into another Fallout 3 versus New Vegas debate, so putting both back in front of players around the same time is only going to make it worse. I know I’ll be paying close attention to whether Fallout 3 still wins me over with its world or whether New Vegas feels even harder to argue against once its biggest technical problems are cleaned up. Either way, I can’t wait to watch this whole argument start over again, because we all know it was never really finished in the first place.
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Fallout 3
- Released
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October 28, 2008
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
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Bethesda Game Studios
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Fallout: New Vegas
8/10
- Released
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October 19, 2010
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
