The Fallout series on Amazon Prime also continues to tell the story of the entire Fallout world. A certain date in the TV show has caused heated discussions in the community. Now Bethesda speaks plainly. Warning: The news contains spoilers for the entire series.
Update from April 19, 2024: After much confusion over the fate of Fallout: New Vegas, Bethesda is now getting involved. Todd Howard personally explains here in an interview with IGN that Fallout: New Vegas is still firmly anchored in the canon. The nuclear strike on Shady Sands only occurred after the events in the game. The “Fall of Shady Sands” in 2277 would still not necessarily refer to nuclear destruction (source: IGN).
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Original message from April 12, 2024:
Amazon can be happy with itself. The new Fallout series is being really well received by critics. However, some role-playing fans have a big problem with the adaptation. They fear that the eight episodes of the first season will break with the existing Fallout universe. In the worst case scenario, it could take on Fallout: New Vegas, considered by many to be the best game in the series. Warning: Spoilers for the new Fallout series on Amazon Prime Video follow.
Has Amazon rewrote the Fallout story?
The supposed breach of canon is hotly debated in the Fallout subreddit. The critical point is the destruction of the city of Shady Sands and with it perhaps even the end of the entire Republic of New California (abbreviated as NCR in English). The characters visit the capital, from which only one crater remains. Later, the case of Shady Sands will be discussed in more detail. The date given is the year 2277, and an arrow on a blackboard points to a mushroom cloud.
Fallout: New Vegas tells a different story. The role-playing game takes place in the year 2281, four years after the nuclear destruction. You can't visit Shady Sands there, but dialogue in the game shows that that the city still exists. There is no mention of a bombing at all.
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Even the NCR, still a powerful nation in Fallout: New Vegas, only seems to have scattered groups left in the series. Not a problem in itself, because the series takes place in the year 2296. However, some fans assume that the NCR also fell with Shady Sands. Under this condition, Fallout: New Vegas could no longer exist in the canon.
Check out the trailer for the Fallout show on Amazon Prime Video here:
Fallout: New Vegas canceled? – It's not that bad
In fact, the Fallout series not just an adaptation of the games, who does her own thing. While it was important to Bethesda boss Todd Howard that the series tell its own story, he still sees it as part of the official canon.
So what does this mean for Fallout: New Vegas? First of all, Bethesda Design Director Emil Pagliarulo has already confirmed on Twitter that the RPG from developer Obsidian Entertainment will definitely be continues to be part of the canon. The contradictions in the series can also be explained.
The year on the board could simply be an error – either by characters in the series or by the producers. At the same time, the arrow between the date and the mushroom cloud could also mean that more time has passed. The bombing could have taken place years after Fallout: New Vegas. Additionally there is several Easter eggswhich specifically refer to characters and equipment from the game.
The current status of the NCR remains in the series currently still a mystery. So fans have to wait. Luckily, a second season for Fallout is all but confirmed.