Fallout 4’s Connection to Fallout 1 Controversy Explained

The Fallout franchise has been subjected to a huge amount of exposure recently, thanks to the successful launch of Amazon’s live-action adaptation of the IP. The show has opened up the wider lore of the franchise up to a whole new audience, with a new lens being placed on narratives dating as far back as 1997’s debut Fallout release.

Fallout‘s first story is often forgotten in the context of the wider franchise, but a major writer for the IP recently alluded to a huge Easter egg in the title that relates to a major character of 2015’s Fallout 4. While a link between the earliest and most recent mainline Fallout games is a fascinating concept, the implications that the Easter egg has on such an important character in Fallout 4 has made the connection a massively controversial one.

A Fallout Writer Suggested That Fallout 4’s Protagonist Was a War Criminal

This controversy began on April 13, when Emil Pagliarulo, the lead writer for Fallout 4, took to social media to offer some extra narrative insight into the franchise amidst the show’s success. Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Pagliarulo told fans that Nate, the male protagonist of Fallout 4, actually appeared in the infamous opening cinematic of the original Fallout game.

Pagliarulo told fans that Nate appeared as a solider donning Power Armor during this cutscene, watching on as one of his comrades executes an unarmed resistance member during the franchise’s infamous 2072 Annexation of Canada. This is a massively important event in the pre-war narrative of Fallout, with the United States taking the country by force to fuel its war efforts, and Fallout‘s devastating nuclear conflict happening just five years later in 2077.

Of course, Nate’s military history is a well-established part of his character and backstory, with Nate even being the one to deliver the iconic “war never changes” line in Fallout 4. The controversy behind this Fallout 1 connection actually stems from the role-playing implications of the link, as well as how it goes against what is already known about Nate.

Nate’s Connection to Fallout 1 is Filled with Moral Questions and Timeline Inconsistencies

The soldier that Pagliarulo alleged to be Nate witnesses the execution of an unarmed prisoner and waves at the camera during the cinematic, with this having huge implications on Nate’s character. This knowledge significantly narrows the scope of how players can choose to role-play around Nate’s military history, taking a great level of agency away from players in Fallout‘s focus on player choice.

Many fans took to social media to air these grievances, with Pagliarulo quickly issuing some follow-up posts that clarified that Nate’s appearance in Fallout 1 is merely the writer’s head-canon, and is not an officially confirmed aspect of Fallout lore. The broadcast in Fallout 1‘s opening cinematic also takes place after the Annexation of Canada was completed in 2077, with Nate having canonically left the military in 2076. This timeline inconsistency, accompanied by the huge moral hangups for Fallout 4‘s main character, made Pagliarulo’s claims about Nate very controversial, although this has died down since Pagliarulo clarified the unofficial nature of the character’s connection to Fallout 1.

Fallout 4

Fallout 4 is an RPG in the Fallout series, being the fourth major installment. This time around, players are in The Commonwealth, formerly Massachusetts, in the year 2287.

Released

November 10, 2015

Engine

Creation

ESRB

M FOR MATURE: BLOOD AND GORE, INTENSE VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, USE OF DRUGS

How Long To Beat

27 Hours

X|S Enhanced

No

File Size Xbox Series

51 GB (December 2023)

Metascore

87

PS Plus Availability

Extra & Premium