Breakdown (Warning: Spoilers Ahead)
- Bethesda Game Studios head Todd Howard confirmed Fallout New Vegas’ place in canon
- The spin-off’s place in canon has been a point of contention for fans following the TV show
- The nuking of Shady Sands occurs very shortly after New Vegas’ ending
The second-best Fallout game, Fallout New Vegas, is officially still canon, reveals Bethesda Games Studios. After the launch of Fallout Season 1 on Amazon Prime, fans have argued about the state of the series’ canon.
In Fallout Season 1, read our review here, it’s revealed that the NCR capital city of Shady Sands was nuked. A blackboard in the show revealed the “Fall of Shady Sands” started in 2277 with a nuclear attack occurring afterwards. However, fans took this to mean Shady Sands was nuked in 2277, which isn’t the case.
Todd Howard confirmed in an interview with IGN that the Fall of Shady Sands occurred after 2277, and the events of Fallout New Vegas are still canon. Howard explained that the showrunners’ decision to blow up the NCR capital initially “shocked” him, but decided to agree due to their plan to move the franchise forward.
“And we talked through it and it was, ‘This would be a pretty impactful story moment that a lot of things anchor on,” Howard told the outlet.
Howard admitted that the timeline of Fallout New Vegas and the annihilation of Shady Sands is tight with the bombs falling “just after the events of New Vegas.” However, nothing has been made non-canon by the show.
“We’re careful about the timeline. There might be a little bit of confusion in some places. But everything that happened in the previous games, including New Vegas, happened. We’re very careful about that,” Todd Howard confirmed.
Showrunner Jonathon Nolan explained that the purpose of the show was to be part of a “consistent universe” that wouldn’t be an “elseworld or a different universe” like shows such as Halo and Twisted Metal.
Set in 2296, Fallout Season 1 is currently the furthest period in the series’ timeline. While no Fallout 5 release date has been confirmed, the next game in the franchise is expected to follow the show’s timeline, likely taking fans into the 2300s.
Fallout is available to watch right now on Amazon Prime.
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