Fallout 5: Everything Todd Howard Has Said About Bethesda's New Game

As if determination was ever immoderate doubt, Bethesda manager Todd Howard has erstwhile again confirmed Fallout 5 is coming… eventually.

Following wide layoffs astatine Xbox earlier this month, Bethesda Game Studios has published a workplace roadmap featuring its plans for the adjacent and far-off future. Part of its missive included confirmation that a 5th mainline introduction successful its massively fashionable post-apocalyptic RPG bid has officially entered pre-production, but what that means for Vault Dwellers everyplace remains to beryllium seen.

What is Fallout 5 about? Where does it instrumentality place? How volition it link to different games successful the franchise? How overmuch volition it cost? Will it travel to PlayStation? And erstwhile is its merchandise date? These questions (and galore more) person filled fans' minds since Fallout 4 launched successful 2015. Do we really cognize the reply to immoderate of them? No, but Howard has inactive spent the past decennary promising that Bethesda has large plans successful store for what's next.

Fallout 5 Is Officially Announced and Being Worked On

Howard archetypal spoke astir Fallout 5 backmost successful 2021, meaning 1 of the archetypal authoritative mentions of the crippled arrived six years aft Fallout 4 and 3 years aft multiplayer spinoff Fallout 76. At the time, helium told IGN that determination was a precise surface-level program for the series' future.

"I don't see... Look, Fallout's truly portion of our DNA here," helium said astatine the time. "We've worked with different radical from clip to clip – I can't accidental what's gonna happen. You know, we person a one-pager connected Fallout 5, what we privation to do."

He added, "Again, if I could question my manus and person [Fallout 5] retired – you know, I'd similar to find a mode to accelerate what we do, but I can't truly accidental contiguous oregon perpetrate to anything, [like] what's going to hap when."

Todd Howard Says Fallout 5 Will Arrive After The Elder Scrolls 6

Players had agelong believed a 5th Fallout crippled would yet arrive, but a connection from Howard successful June 2022 made it wide the hold would beryllium longer than what was expected by immoderate of Bethesda's astir skeptical fans. He told IGN the program was to spot Fallout 5 get aft The Elder Scrolls 6, which, astatine the clip of this story's work successful July 2026, inactive seems to beryllium years from launch.

"Yes, Elder Scrolls 6 is successful pre-production and, you know, we’re going to beryllium doing Fallout 5 aft that, truthful our slate’s beauteous afloat going guardant for a while," helium said astatine the time, inactive 1 twelvemonth retired from the motorboat of Starfield. "We person immoderate different projects that we look astatine from clip to clip arsenic well."

The Fallout Show Crew Knows 'All About' Fallout 5

One happening keeping Fallout fans blessed in-between installments is the Fallout amusement connected Prime Video. Ahead of the premiere of Season 1 successful 2024, enforcement shaper Jonathan Nolan went arsenic acold arsenic to archer Den of Geek that the unit "know each astir Fallout 5" and that they're "not telling anyone."

It's hard to accidental conscionable however overmuch of Fallout 5 had travel unneurotic by this point, but Howard said helium made definite the unit steered wide of immoderate unwanted crossovers.

"Well, determination were immoderate things wherever I said, ‘Don’t bash this due to the fact that we are going to bash that successful Fallout 5,'" Howard said. "But I deliberation the intent erstwhile you spot that, it's however we approached it. I deliberation it's 1 of the things that's unsocial astir this benignant of genre translation of thing – whether it's a crippled oregon a comic oregon immoderate different publication – is that it wasn't a translation of an existing story; it was, 'What would the adjacent happening be?' It conscionable happens to beryllium a TV show, and that was the attack to it."

Don't Expect Fallout 5 to Leave the U.S.

Fallout 3 brought Vault Dwellers to the Capital Wasteland of Washington, D.C., Fallout 4 traveled to Boston's Commonwealth, and Fallout 5 volition (probably) instrumentality players determination other successful the United States. That's according to Howard, who told Kinda Funny successful April 2024 that Bethesda plans to "predominantly" support the bid from leaving excessively acold extracurricular of its comfortableness zone.

"My presumption is portion of the Fallout schtick is connected the Americana naivete and portion of that," Howard said. "And so, for america close now, it’s OK to admit immoderate of those different areas. But our program is to predominantly support it successful the U.S."

He continued: "I besides similar successful immoderate benignant of world, I don’t consciousness the request to answer. It’s OK to permission enigma oregon questions: what is happening here? What is happening here? I deliberation those are bully things. In Elder Scrolls everybody wants to spell to these other, mysterious lands. The worst happening you could bash to mysterious lands is region the mysteriousness. Keep mysterious lands mysterious!"

Todd Howard Doesn't Want to Rush Fallout 5

So, the Fallout amusement was a occurrence – but present what? In June 2024, Howard told contented creator MrMattyPlays that Bethesda isn't funny successful "rushing" its games conscionable due to the fact that millions of fans showed up to ticker the archetypal play of the TV series.

"For different Fallout games successful the future, you know, evidently I can’t speech astir those close now, but I would say, benignant of rushing done them, oregon we benignant of request to get worldly retired that is antithetic than the enactment we’re doing successful 76… we don’t consciousness similar we request to unreserved immoderate of that," helium said. "The Fallout TV amusement fills a definite niche successful presumption of the franchise and storytelling."

He continued, saying that helium wholly gets "the tendency for a caller benignant of mainline single-player game" successful the franchise. The reality, according to him, however, is that "those things instrumentality time."

"I don’t deliberation it’s atrocious for radical to miss things," Howard added. "We conscionable privation to get it close and marque definite that everything we’re doing successful a franchise, whether it’s Elder Scrolls, Fallout, oregon present Starfield, that those go meaningful moments for everybody who loved these franchises arsenic overmuch arsenic we do."

Todd Howard to Desperate Fallout Fans: 'Just Know We Are Working connected Even More'

Fallout Day 2025 came and went without immoderate Fallout 5 quality past October, but Howard told disappointed fans that determination is inactive plentifulness to look guardant to. While what that means for Fallout 5 is hard to say, fans tin astatine slightest remainder casual knowing the Bethesda pb is speechmaking each of your comments. Yes, those ones, too.

"Even though I americium signaling this — it’s not unrecorded — and I’m astir apt watching myself close present from my table and I’m speechmaking your chat and these… that happening you privation and this different happening you want… Hey, we work it all," Howard said. "Just cognize we are moving connected adjacent more. We are looking guardant to the time erstwhile we tin stock that with everybody."

Will Characters from the Fallout Show beryllium successful Fallout 5? Maybe!

As Fallout Season 2 scavenged its mode onto Prime Video precocious past year, Howard took the accidental to punctual fans that the amusement inactive precise overmuch exists wrong franchise canon. Speaking to BBC, helium said that Bethesda is taking the events of the live-action task "into account" arsenic it chips distant connected its adjacent large entry.

"In short, yes," Howard said erstwhile asked if the Fallout amusement volition interaction the game. "Fallout 5 volition beryllium existing successful a satellite wherever the stories and events of the amusement happened oregon are happening. We are taking that into account."

Fallout 5 Is Officially successful Preproduction

Today's Fallout 5 quality mightiness person delivered the astir important update we've seen truthful far. In Bethesda's letter, the squad revealed that the adjacent crippled is "currently successful preproduction." When it really entered this aboriginal signifier is unclear, but the bully quality is that means improvement is moving steadily ahead, adjacent if players volition beryllium waiting for a very, precise agelong clip to really get their hands connected it.

The connection besides reminded fans that The Elder Scrolls 6 remains Bethesda's "primary improvement focus," with the "majority" of the workplace inactive focused connected its wildly fashionable phantasy series. It besides said Fallout 5 remains its "long-range destination," suggesting that, adjacent 5 years aft publically teasing that "one-pager," Howard doesn't mean to stock a merchandise day – oregon adjacent a model – immoderate clip soon.

The missive besides confirmed Fallout 5 is being developed connected its in-house Creation Engine 3. The enactment said it "allows our teams to enactment aggregate projects simultaneously with caller tools, rendering, and systems that specify our games."

Things are inactive intelligibly successful the aboriginal stages, however, with Howard precocious telling Windows Central that it was excessively soon to remark connected whether Fallout 5 would beryllium Xbox exclusive oregon not. The aforesaid interrogation saw him disregard the "fan chatter" regarding the rivalry betwixt Bethesda and Fallout: New Vegas developer Obsidian Entertainment.

It feels similar we cognize some a batch astir Fallout 5 and thing astatine all. Hopefully that changes sooner alternatively than later. Just earlier Xbox slammed its teams with layoffs a fewer weeks back, a study stated that CEO Asha Sharma had called connected its studios to velocity up improvement connected cardinal franchises, specified arsenic The Elder Scrolls and Fallout. Post-layoff messaging from Bethesda brag Jill Braff promised the workplace would absorption connected its "strongest franchises," too.

Michael Cripe is simply a freelance writer with IGN. He's champion known for his enactment astatine sites similar The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be definite to springiness him a travel connected Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).