The Secrets Unveiled: Fallout's Genius Solution for The Elder Scrolls' Future

Elder Scrolls fans have expressed concerns about the future of the franchise, but fans of Bethesda's Fallout franchise are likely to be unaffected. Both properties have a similar history, with multiple main series entries released from the '90s until the early-to-mid 2010s. However, both franchises have experienced a lack of new main series entries for a significant period of time, with almost 8 years passing since Fallout 4 and 12 years since The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.

Recently, a dedicated Elder Scrolls fan had a grim realization about the franchise's future considering its location-focused entries and the lengthy production time for new games. This concern can also be applied to Fallout fans to some extent, as there is currently no news about Fallout 5 while at least Elder Scrolls fans have information about the upcoming sixth game. However, the post-apocalyptic Fallout series does have an advantage over the fantasy-based Elder Scrolls franchise when it comes to one aspect: there is no shortage of diverse and interesting settings to explore.

No Shortage of Locations

Starting with Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall, each game in the series has focused on a specific province within the continent of Tamriel. However, there is a concern that due to the time between Skyrim and the next installment, many fans may not live to see every province in Tamriel receive its own game. This concern could potentially apply to Fallout as well, considering the expansive wasteland that now covers the majority of the world. It would take considerable time to explore all these areas, including every major city in the US. However, Fallout fans are not particularly focused on exploring every state, unlike Elder Scrolls enthusiasts who eagerly anticipate the exploration of Black Marsh and Valenwood.

In the Fallout series, locations such as Washington DC, Boston, and Las Vegas, as well as parts of West Virginia and California, have been explored thus far. Even if the franchise were to aim for a game set in every US state, the vast majority of them are still unexplored. This allows the developers to have a wide range of choices when deciding on the location for each new Fallout game, without feeling pressure from fans to cover every state. It is generally unrealistic to expect 45 more Fallout games, although it may be a dream for some. Furthermore, the franchise is not limited to exploring only the US. It would certainly be intriguing to see wastelands in other countries such as Australia or South Africa.

The Time Between Releases

Both the Fallout and Elder Scrolls games are taking increasingly longer to develop. With Fallout 5 awaiting its turn after Elder Scrolls 6, which lacks a release date and will likely take a substantial amount of time. The longest gap between two main-series entries was 10 years between Fallout 2 and Fallout 3, mainly due to financial struggles faced by the original publisher Interplay. As Fallout 5 won't begin until Elder Scrolls 6 is finished, and completion is not expected until at least 2025, it appears that it will be well beyond the 10-year mark before we see more vaults being explored.

Therefore, although Fallout fans do not have location concerns like Elder Scrolls fans, the waiting time is a bigger concern for both franchises. Bethesda might consider outsourcing the next Fallout game, especially considering the controversies surrounding Fallout 76 and, to a lesser extent, Fallout 4. When comparing this with the success of Obsidian's Fallout: New Vegas, it raises questions as to why Bethesda is making fans wait so long for the next Fallout game when other options are available. Regardless, players can take solace in the fact that they won't have to worry about specific locations remaining unexplored in their lifetime.