Some franchises travel the world (and space-time) for their settings – see Far Cry – but others, like Grand Theft Auto, like to stick closer to the United States of America for their mainline games. Fallout is no exception, to the extent that Bruce Nesmith, former lead designer on The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, would be “shocked” if Fallout 5 didn’t follow suit.
“I have no idea where Fallout 5 will be set, but it’ll be in America. I would be shocked if it wasn’t,” he told PressBoxPR in a new interview. Assuming it was a possibility, however, he said Tokyo was a “great” option.
“I would probably have to go to Asia. I think Tokyo would be great. They could lean into Kaiju, and that would feel a very natural fit for the series. You could do a lot of very cool stuff out there.”
Fallout as a media sensation is in a great spot. Despite lower viewership, Season 2 of Amazon’s Fallout TV show is performing well, with a third season already greenlit. The video games are a different matter. Fallout 4’s impressions may have improved since its 2015 launch, but it’s still viewed less than positively by long-time fans, especially when every major new update seems to break things.
To that end, what would Nesmith suggest for Bethesda to shake things up for Fallout 5 (and even The Elder Scrolls 6)? “I would probably look at two things. I would probably look at having the world be more dynamic. Bethesda games in the last decade have become less dynamic in order to meet the needs of what the games needed and audience expectations, but to be able to have the world be more fluid, I think that would be very cool.
“I also think, to look at Baldur’s Gate 3 and draw lessons from that smash hit, that part of what made it so popular is that it felt like all choices were meaningful because you made a choice and it made a big difference in your play. Bethesda games have maybe pulled back from doing that a little bit.
“The focus is on putting your toys away, but in these games, you do something in the thieves guild quest line that completely changes what becomes of the mages guild, for example. The world and the game is changed because of your choices. Have it make a real impact.
“If I were in a position of being able to make the decisions, that’s something that I would look to be doing because I think the gaming community has spoken and said they want games like Baldur’s Gate 3 where their actions feel like they have impact in a broader sense.”
Nothing is known about Fallout 5 at this point, besides rumors that it’s in the works at Bethesda. The only official detail is from Bethesda’s Todd Howard, who said it would “will exist in a world where the stories and events of the show happened or are happening.” Fallout 76 creative director Jon Rush also denied that the multiplayer title was holding back the sequel in any way.
As for what fans can expect in the near future, remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are reportedly on the agenda. They likely won’t be revealed anytime soon, though, so the wait continues.
