August 18, 2022

Bethesda has confirmed that Fallout 5 is very much something they intend to work on (if they’re not already doing so), but we doubt we’ll be seeing the next entry in the famous series for quite some time.

Although it’s been well over 7 years since Fallout 4 was released, and well over 3 years since Fallout 76 launched, we know that the developer has plenty of other projects on the go currently. Between the long-overdue Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6, they’re also working on a new Indiana Jones game.

As we mentioned though, Bethesda has acknowledged they have a one-page design document relating to Fallout 5, so we know they’ll get around to it eventually. But what else do we know about Fallout 5? Read on for everything we know so far.

18 Aug Update - Checked for the latest Fallout 5 news. All the most recent updates are found just below.

Latest News

Fallout 5 Release Date

Welcome to the speculation nation, because as of right now Fallout 5 does not have a confirmed release date for any platform. Currently, it seems like the most optimistic Fallout 5 release date is likely to be 2024 at the very earliest, but even that feels generous.

As we mentioned previously, Bethesda has confirmed that Fallout 5 is a project they’re working on (in some sort of capacity). In a November 2021 interview with IGN, Todd Howard said the studio has “a one-pager on Fallout 5” of what they want to do. Expanding on rather broad statement, Howard they added: “Again, if I could wave my hand and have [Fallout 5] out – you know, I’d like to find a way to accelerate what we do, but I can’t really say today or commit to anything, [like] what’s going to happen [or] when.”

Is Fallout 5 Coming To PS5?

Fallout 5 will almost certainly be an Xbox and PC exclusive. Ever since Microsoft acquired the Bethesda it’s been the companies intention to be the sole console capable of delivering Bethesda games. Both Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 have been described as Xbox exclusives and we see no reason why that’ll change.

Admittedly, we don’t have a definitive answer to this question, and whilst influential Bethesda bosses like Pete Hines and Todd Howard have made comments to suggest they’re not sure where the company sits with doing games on PlayStation in the future, it seems more likely that titles won’t be made for PlayStation.

Fallout 5 Locations

As most Fallout fans will know, the series has been set in various locations across the United States, leaning heavily into that Americana we all know and love. With that in mind, we doubt we’ll see Fallout go international anytime soon.

In the past we’ve visited Washington for Fallout 3, Boston for Fallout 4 and most recently West Virginia for Fallout 76. Whilst, Obsidian Entertainment’s take on the series – Fallout New Vegas – used elements of Nevada, California, Arizona and Utah.

But when it comes to predicting where Fallout 5 might rock up, it’s hard to say given the paucity of viable leaks and also, with how far away the game is from releasing, it could quite easily change.

There were previously rumours that a new game could turn to New Orleans, following a trademark application for ‘Fallout New Orleans‘ which appeared way back in 2016. There’s also Chicago, which featured in Fallout Tactics and was mentioned in passing during New Vegas’ campaign, but one off-hand comment about an Enclave outpost feels a little too speculative.

With any luck, we’ll learn more about that ‘one-pager’ Bethesda has at some point soon to give us a few further clues. At this point we’ll take an Elder Scrolls 6 style piece of key art to simply speculate over.

Will Fallout 5 have multiplayer?

We doubt it, being the short answer. Whilst Fallout 76 might have won over fans in the long run, it launched in a terrible state.  Bethesda’s Todd Howard has previously claimed that each and every game they’ve created has attempted to design some sort of multiplayer component “just to see what we could do”.

But after over 7 years since Fallout 4, we think Bethesda would want to give fans purely single-player experience they’ve been craving. We could envisage some sort of multiplayer component, maybe in the same vein of  Elden Ring and Deathloop, where players could invade other players sessions. But beyond this, we think Bethesda may want to keep this to the bare minimum.

Again, it’s best to keep an eye on how the team approach Starfield for signs of what they could look to do in Fallout 5.

Will Fallout 5 Be On A New Engine?

It would certainly seem that way. Bethesda previously confirmed that they had updated the engine used previously for Oblivion, Skyrim and Fallout 4, whilst Fallout 76 was using a heavily modified version of the Creation Engine. Despite this, in all cases the engine has been rather janky.

Gamesradar previously reported that a new engine was being used to develop Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6. Furthermore, Bethesda’s Todd Howard spoke about the new engine in the aftermath of partnering with Microsoft, saying that “it’s led to our largest engine overhaul since Oblivion, with all new technologies powering our first new IP in 25 years, Starfield, as well as The Elder Scrolls 6.”

This was back in 2020, so we would hope that by the time Fallout 5 rolls around, the team will have an even better grasp of the new engine and lead to some incredible results. For now though, only time will tell.