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.
However, according to Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard – who directed Fallout 3 and 4 and will be directing Fallout 5 at some point in the future – a US setting is a core part of the franchise and its aesthetic. Speaking in a recent interview with Kinda Funny Games, when asked if Bethesda Game Studios had ever considered setting a Fallout game in a location outside of the US in the past, Howard explained that given how central an American setting is to the franchise’s identity, it’s unlikely that a future instalment will be set in a different location.
“My view is, part of the Fallout schtick is on the Americana naivety,” Howard said. “For us right now, it’s okay to acknowledge some of those other areas, but our plan is to predominantly keep it in the US.”
Howard added that though fans similarly often have questions about mysterious locations in The Elder Scrolls, he feels leaving some questions unanswered and some mysteries unsolved is often the best way forward from a storytelling perspective.
“It’s okay to leave mystery or questions,” he said. “What is happening in Europe? What is happening here? I think those are good things. In Elder Scrolls, everybody wants to kind of go to these other specific lands, and I think I’m known for saying the worst thing you can do to a mysterious land is remove the mysteriousness.”
Of course, with Bethesda Game Studios currently focused on post-launch support for Starfield and ongoing development on The Elder Scrolls 6, the next Fallout game is unlikely to hit anytime soon, which means even new American setting is out of reach for the franchise for the foreseeable future. That said, Howard has said that Bethesda is looking into ways to increase its output of game releases, while he also seemed to suggest that the company has two unannounced Fallout projects in the works.