Fallout "was a sequel" to Wasteland, says Interplay co-founder, and "we did everything we could not to be sued by Electronic Arts" after the devs "had to pivot out" of the follow-up

(Image credit: Interplay)

Wasteland director Brian Fargo says Interplay did "everything we could not to be sued by Electronic Arts" after moving on from the 1988 EA-published post-apocalyptic RPG and making the first Fallout.

Speaking in an interview with MrMattyPlays on YouTube (below), Fargo, who co-founded Interplay Productions in 1983, explains: "What a lot of people don't know was that [Fallout] was a sequel to Wasteland. People don't know the story behind that. That's why it went from tunnels and trolls and then we needed a system – mercenaries, spies, and private eyes – and then that's how we got the skill-based system with Wasteland, and then that went to Fallout."

The TRUTH About Fallout’s Origins... – Brian Fargo Tells All - YouTube

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He continues, noting that "we were actually working on it for a while and about some months in we had to pivot out of it. And people, they forgot, Shadowclaws were Deathclaws. We did everything we could not to be sued by Electronic Arts – to not do too much."

Beyond that, one iconic Fallout line also sounds rather familiar, when you think about it. "Even in Fallout, it was ''your life ends in the wasteland,'" he adds.

Obviously, despite the similarities in concept between Wasteland and Fallout – which were both set in post-nuclear America – EA didn't take legal action against Interplay's 1997 RPG. It's a good job, too – who knows where the series might have ended up had the devs run into trouble with its debut?

Fallout creator Tim Cain says players misunderstand the series' signature "gray morality" and he'd love to make a sequel that truly explores the main theme: "Power corrupts."

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I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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