We all know that the Fallout franchise is one of Bethesda’s crown jewels. Despite that, it’s been almost a decade since we last saw a mainline Fallout title. If this was any other franchise, it would’ve been bombarded with multiple entries.
However, Bethesda fans are used to waiting for years between games. Certainly, Fallout 5 is still years away from hitting the shelves. However, Microsoft isn’t keen on that kind of development cycle, as it doesn’t want the Fallout hype to die and the next game being dead on arrival.
Rumors suggest Microsoft is pushing for Fallout 5
Bethesda has been quite open about the fact that Fallout 5 is technically in the development stages but it has also stated how long it will take to develop. Currently, Todd Howard and his team are working on the Elder Scrolls 6, which entered full-scale production all the way back in 2023.
Bethesda won’t start developing Fallout 5 well until it’s done with Elder Scrolls 6, so it means that the next post-apocalyptic title won’t be out before 2030 at the earliest. It’s quite a long wait for the next Fallout game, but according to YouTuber NovemberHotel, “Microsoft has realized this fact” and wants to push a new title as soon as possible.
Microsoft pushing for a brand-new Fallout game isn’t really surprising, considering all the hype generated by Prime Video’s show. Bringing Fallout 5 alongside the next season of the Fallout show would push the sales and bring even more players to watch the show. It’s a strategy that’s been successful for a number of video games such as The Witcher, Cyberpunk, and Arcane.
However, Microsoft’s push to capitalize on the current Fallout hype has the chance of backfiring. We can bash Bethesda all we want, but it doesn’t change the fact that the developers’ RPGs are incredibly detailed open-world experiences that take years of effort to realize.
Forcing Bethesda to speed up Fallout 5 might lead to another buggy mess, as we had seen in Fallout 76 and Starfield. The developer is already working on the Elder Scrolls 6, and there’s a rumored Oblivion remake on the cards as well. If Bethesda decides to divide resources between Fallout 5 and its other active projects right now, it would massively impact the quality of all games.
Gaming developers simply can’t and shouldn’t handle multiple projects at the same time. Whenever we’ve seen that happening in the industry, it leads to failures, and another underwhelming RPG is something Bethesda can’t afford anymore.
Fallout 5 must learn from the success of Fallout 76
It’s clear that Bethesda is going to take its time with Fallout 5. However, the studio should keep an eye out for all the community feedback it has gained over the years and bring some crucial features to the next post-apocalyptic game.
While Fallout 76 is generally considered to be a failure, one thing it managed to nail was character customization. The game allowed players to make a number of adjustments and set themselves apart from the rest.
One of the latest updates even allows players to become Ghouls. Fallout 5 needs to bring this feature and even elevate it to improve the overall player immersion and roleplaying aspect.
We could even see this linking to the game’s storyline, where there are a number of different character appearances that result in unique interactions with NPCS.
With that said, do you think Bethesda needs to divert its attention immediately to Fallout 5? Let us know in the comments below.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
