Todd Howard Explains Why Bethesda Plans to Keep Fallout Set in the U.S.

As one of the classic franchises of the RPG genre, has built up an extensive timeline across its many games — one that can be confusing to keep track of with each new addition. Developed first by the now-defunct Black Isle Studios and then by Bethesda (and Obsidian, for ), as a series has gone through a number of distinct changes, with each game putting a post-apocalyptic spin on a new region of the United States.

In the Fallout TV series, it's revealed that Vault-Tec nuked the iconic Shady Sands. It's been incredibly controversial with fans, but they're not alone. Designer John Deiley, who took it from a small innocuous settlement in the first game to the thriving NCR capital of Fallout 2, also isn't happy with the decision.

Amid all the debates around the canon status of since the release of the TV series, there's one particular faction ending that makes a lot more sense. The TV series is the latest in the timeline, which means it inevitably incorporates details from all the games. These can be both major and minor, ranging from people and places referenced on posters seen briefly in the background of one shot, to entire recurring factions who play a major role in the story.

Bethesda is rolling out a new Fallout 4 update across all platforms on May 13, packing new graphic options, fixes, performance improvements, and more.

The Strong National Museum of Play has announced its annual inductees into the World Video Game Hall of Fame, inducting iconic titles likeResident Evil, Myst, SimCity, Asteroids, and Ultima. This year’s inductees were selected on a range of criteria that judged their influence, geographical reach, longevity, and icon status, of which Resident Evil certainly could not be denied.

The universe has begun a pretty significant expansion with the release of the hit TV adaptation released on Prime Video. There are more than 100 vaults located across the U.S., each of them holding a different horrific experiment inside — but longtime fans have pondered about what life outside of the U.S. must look like. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as though Bethesda plans to give us any answers.

Whether exploring the irradiated monuments of Washington D.C. in Fallout 3 or gambling away your last couple of Caps on The Strip in Fallout: New Vegas, the series' North American setting is an essential piece of the puzzle. And while players have previously been given tantalising glimpses of how the rest of Bethesda's bleak world might be faring, studio head Todd Howard says the plan is to keep the series set in the US.

Now Starfield’s May update is out in the wild in beta form on Steam, players are getting to grips with all the new features, including the detailed maps, ship interior customization, and more. But there’s one change that flew under the radar when it was announced but is now picking up plaudits: the ability to toggle the default dialogue camera off.

In a recent interview, Fallout director Todd Howard said that Bethesda plans to «predominately keep» the franchise in the United States and explained his reasoning. Although Howard left the door open for non-US Fallout settings in the future, it seems unlikely given the franchise's established theme.

Bethesda has released the hefty patch for Fallout 76 that removes a ton of bugs but weighs in at around 20 GB on console.

For all long as the Fallout franchise has been around, it has never been set outside of the United States. Of course, its over-the-top, retro-futuristic Americana satirization is a core aspect of what makes Fallout, Fallout, but on new few occasions, large chunks of the series’ fanbase have wondered how locations outside of the US are faring in Fallout’s post-apocalyptic setting, and whether they could fare as suitable settings for a future Fallout game.

Every Fallout game, dating back to the original in 1997, has been set in America. We've gone from New California to the Capital Wasteland to The Commonwealth, but never outside the USA.