Bethesda Dev Addresses Fallout: New Vegas Canon Status

12.04.2024 - 13:05 / gamerant.com / Todd Howard / Emil Pagliarulo / Daniel Morris

Bethesda Studio Design Director Emil Pagliarulo has clarified the canon status of Fallout: New Vegas in the wake of events in the Fallout TV series — spoilers for the show are ahead. Although Fallout: New Vegas is one of the most beloved entries in the series, some were worried that it had been de-canonized by the show.

The critically acclaimed Fallout TV show is proving once again that video game adaptations can be great, if handled with the care necessary to translate them across the mediums. With enough references to keep mega-fans happy and enough world-building to attract new viewers, Fallout stands alongside The Last of Us as a show that perfectly captures the essence of its source material. Its big achievement is that it has managed this without isolating viewers who had previously never heard of the franchise. However, there was one small aspect of the show that led fans to believe that Obsidian's Fallout: New Vegas had been de-canonized.

Full spoilers follow for the Fallout TV show. Bethesda Studio Design Director Emil Pagliarulo replied to a fan on Twitter, confirming that Fallout: New Vegas is absolutely still part of the series' canon, and, «We've never suggested otherwise.» Some fans were concerned that a timeline shown in episode 6 of Fallout indicated that Shady Sands, the capital of the NCR, had been nuked prior to the year that Fallout: New Vegas took place. However, this doesn't actually contradict anything in the game itself, as pointed out by Pagliarulo, who has previously been credited as the lead writer on Fallout 3 and 4.

If there was any doubt about whether Fallout: New Vegas was still canon, the series' final shot should seal the deal. Vault 33's Overseer, Hank MacClean, is seen staring into the distance at the city of New Vegas. While it seems to be a smaller version of the city seen in the game, it's important to remember that the show takes place 15 years after Fallout: New Vegas, and a lot could change in that time. It was always clear that the Fallout TV show could cause canon problems, but it seems like this particular grievance is a non-issue.

With the Fallout TV show now out, many fans are confident of a Season 2, thanks to the ending of the first series. Although it seems like Fallout will go on to become a success, recent red-carpet comments from Todd Howard indicate that an Elder Scrolls TV adaption is unlikely, even if the right pitch could cause Bethesda to change its tune in this regard. With the studio's first foray into TV going so well, it'll be exciting to see what comes next, whether that be more Fallout, or something else.

Fallout New Vegas is another installment in the expansive and engaging post-apocalyptic survival FPS. Players are put into the shoes of