Fallout fever is sweeping the globe right now. Whether you’re watching the Fallout TV show or downloading the new Fallout 4 next-gen update, interest in Bethesda’s acclaimed RPG series is at an all-time high. You might be wondering what’s next for the franchise, and now, new rumors claim that Fallout 5 may launch sooner than initial speculation indicated.
We all know that Bethesda is steadily working toward The Elder Scrolls 6 release date, and that’s when the studio isn’t adding new content to last year’s Starfield. However, with Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 finding an entirely fresh audience of players, Bethesda is reportedly looking to capitalize on that hype. Discussing the potential of the new Xbox game on The Xbox Two Podcast, co-host and journalist Jez Corden claims that Bethesda is “currently formulating plans on how to get the next Fallout [game], here for us, sooner rather than later.”
Furthermore, Corden reinforces his belief, adding that “we constantly talk about ‘[when] will we even see Fallout this decade?’, and the answer is I think we will.” Not only are these plans said to be underway, but unsurprisingly, Bethesda is “full aware” of Fallout’s immense surge in popularity. Since 2007, Bethesda has assumed full control over the development of the Fallout franchise, buying the rights from Interplay for $5.75 million.
Despite the immense success of Fallout 3, one of the best RPG games ever made, Bethesda would later bring Obsidian Entertainment onboard to get a follow-up out the door quicker while Skyrim was in development.
That follow-up, as you know, is the superb 2010 spin-off Fallout New Vegas. The release of The Elder Scrolls 6 is likely still a few years away, which would speculative push a new Fallout game release date beyond 2030. Can you feel the gray hairs growing yet? Recruiting outsider talent seems like the best course of action for Bethesda. We’d love to see Obsidian get its hands on the franchise again, but that seems unlikely as it pushes forward with its own open world game, Avowed.
For now, support for Bethesda’s once maligned multiplayer game, Fallout 76, continues in the background. The game has been reappraised in recent years, even managing to surpass a total of 40 million players.
In related Fallout news, the Fallout 4 next-gen update renders a key feature useless on Xbox, and a fix is available for PS Plus subscribers trying to access the update.