Unveiling the Truth: Is the Fallout Series on Streaming Platforms Part of Gaming History?

To the sound of the cannon

After episodes of the Fallout television series aired on Amazon Prime, a debate began to appear online: is the show canon or not? Without spoiling too many elements that could spoil the pleasure of discovery, there are various details which suggest two possibilities: either the television series is not canon, or it is Fallout: New Vegas which is not canon . After all, it is not necessarily established that the adaptation of a game into a TV series takes place in the same timeline. We saw this clearly with Halo broadcast on Paramount+, another license which belongs to Microsoft, but whose producers preferred to tell events vaguely inspired by those of video games, and therefore taking place on another timeline.

However, Todd Howard, the boss of Fallout at Bethesda, confirmed that the adaptation of the television series was indeed canon. “We pay attention to the chronology” he declared at IGN. “There may be a little confusion in some places” he added, “but everything that happened in previous games, including New Vegas, happened. We are very careful about this” we read. “All I can say is that we are strengthening ties, but the bombs are falling right after the events of New Vegas” adds Todd Howard. As recalled GamesRadarJonathan Nolan, co-creator of the Fallout television series, has already praised the coherence work done “on all Fallout games”.

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Chronicle of a success

Released on April 10, 2024, season 1 of the TV series recorded good scores and attracted a lot of attention. Awarded a nice 94% on Rotten Tomatos, the series is renewed for a second season. In order to put all the chances on their side, Microsoft, Bethesda and Amazon Prime launched a particularly important transmedia campaign with offers on Fallout games at the time of the series' release, and various interactive content to deepen the universe. In terms of the most remarkable synergies, the mobile video game (also released on PC and consoles) Fallout Shelters recently welcomed the main protagonists of the Fallout series into its universe. The consequences are there: revenues from Fallout Shelters have exploded, and Fallout 4 is currently the best-selling game in Europe… even though it dates from 2015. Not bad !