One of the age-old debates in the Fallout space is whether the game could ever ‘leave’ the United States. Since day one, the franchise has been kept firmly within the confines of the US, with developers taking the series from Washington to Nevada, and from West Virginia to Pennsylvania.
I sat down with Bethesda Game Studios’ Jonathan Rush (creative director) and Bill LaCoste (lead producer) to talk about Fallout 76, the franchise at large, and if the series could ever leave the United States.
‘The Spirit of Fallout’
When I bumped into them at the Summer Game Fest event in Los Angeles, I asked Jon Rush and Bill LaCoste if Fallout could ever leave the United States, and the answer was simple:
I would never say never, but I will say, probably not.
Fallout has always been rooted in Americana, corporate culture, and atomic technology. The brands, iconography, music, and set pieces in the series are perfect representations of 1950s America fused with the retro-futurism aspects that border on sci-fi. I couldn’t imagine it being set anywhere other than the United States, and it might not be possible at all.
Jon Rush explained:
A big part of the spirit of Fallout is that sense of America. That’s kind of pulsing through all the stories and the scenery and the set dressing. If a story like Fallout was to be taken out of the United States, I think a big challenge with that would be kind of expressing that same tone and that same feel.
That’s a bit part of what makes it Fallout, it’s the Americana against the darker moments, and against the moments with more levity and finding that balance, that’s really what Fallout is.
Bill LaCoste, the lead producer working on Fallout 76, agreed:
I think being told through our lids, is what keeps people very mystified about what else is happening across the world, because what we’re telling is from our perspective of it, and I think that will always be a bit of a mystery.
The pair suggested that drip-feeding lore about the rest of the world and allowing fans to pull together pieces is very much a deliberate thing. It allows fans of Fallout to come up with their own interpretations based on the minutiae of the thirty years of lore that drive the Fallout universe onwards.
Do you think there’s any stock in Fallout leaving the United States, or should it always stay in the country? Let me know on the Insider Gaming forum.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
I think fallout should have a game set in Canada as in the fallout lore Canada is a part of America. And I haven’t seen any games set in Canada as of yet. Although I haven’t played Fallout 1 or 2.