The fervor behind Amazon’s Fallout TV show has died down somewhat since its debut month, but it’s had a profound impact on the franchise. Player numbers for all Fallout titles, particularly Fallout 4 and Fallout 76, were up significantly. Microsoft is allegedly aware of the same and seemingly “formulating plans” to release a new title “sooner than later.”
However, Todd Howard, who directed Fallout 3 and 4, feels that Bethesda doesn’t need to rush a new title. “For other Fallout games in the future… obviously, I can’t talk about those right now, but I would say, sort of, rushing through them, or we need to get stuff out that is different than the work we’re doing in Fallout 76, you know… We don’t feel like we need to rush any of that.
“Right now, the Fallout TV show fills a certain niche in terms of the franchise and story-telling,” he told MrMattyPlays in a new interview (transcription via Insider-Gaming). While he understands fan desire for a “new kind of ‘mainline’ single-player game,” such efforts take time. “I don’t think it’s bad for people to miss things, as well.
“We just want to get it right and make sure that everything we’re doing in a franchise, whether Elder Scrolls or Fallout or now Starfield… that those become meaningful moments for everybody who loves these franchises as much as we do.”
On the bright side, Fallout 76 continues to receive support with its latest update, Skyline Valley, launching last week. The TV show will also receive second season, with the first accumulating over 65 million viewers in 16 days.
As for Starfield, Howard confirmed over 14 million players across all platforms. He also revealed that its first expansion, Shattered Space, will feature hand-crafted content with a similar scale to Fallout 4: Far Harbor. It’s only the start for paid post-launch content, with Bethesda planning to release yearly expansions.