Fallout and Elder Scrolls boss Todd Howard reads "a lot" of Reddit, says seeing fans' thoughts line up with what Bethesda is doing gives "confidence to lean in more on some of those things"

If you find yourself posting a lot about Fallout on Reddit, it sounds like there's a decent chance that Bethesda veteran Todd Howard has seen your thoughts, as he confirms that "I read a lot of it."

In a recent interview with GameCentral (below) about season two of the Fallout TV series on Prime Video, executive producer Jonathan Nolan, co-showrunner Geneva Robertson-Dworet, and Howard are asked if they keep up with Fallout theories and discussions on Reddit. While Nolan and Robertson-Dworet aren't avid Redditors themselves, from the game development side, Howard sees the virtues of keeping up with what fans have to say.

"I read a lot of it," he begins. "I'm a Reddit fan, and I think on the game side, that's our community, and so it's always so active. Like, we're updating the game, so what [fans on Reddit are] seeing a lot of value in, what's special to them, it's good to have that in the back of your mind. And where you have your own sort of priorities, like, 'hey we like this,' and where there's a match, it gives you sort of the confidence to lean in more on some of those things."

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Admittedly, he adds, "sometimes there's a mismatch" between those dev priorities and what fans want, but the team at Bethesda will always "know creatively, this is where this is where we're taking things."

As for Fallout's TV adaptation, Howard notes that in season two, "there's a lot of surprises," and being a weekly show, he's "very interested to see what the chatter is week on week." So, just keep in mind before you post, Howard is watching.

Fallout 4 is actually "quite a hopeful story," according to Todd Howard, who believes the whole series is lowkey optimistic: "Every character, what will they do to survive?"