"I don't think Bethesda hates Fallout," says New Vegas lead, "they just don't fully understand its roots and arguably, don't care"

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"They own the franchise, and they just want to do their spin on Fallout and make that the norm"

Fallout: New Vegas
(Image credit: Bethesda)

Fallout 2 designer and Obsidian Entertainment founder Chris Avellone says he doesn't think Bethesda understands the roots of Fallout.

Fallout probably wouldn't be in the industry powerhouse position it currently holds without Bethesda taking on the license and creating Fallout 3 – which in turn led to the incredibly popular TV show – especially given Interplay had to sell it due to financial woes. However, there is a stark difference between both eras of the series, not only down to the isometric vs. FPS formats. The original Fallout games have a far more oppressive atmosphere than what Bethesda is putting out, and while the fanbase has grown, the series still has diehard fans yearning for that original tone.

Avellone – who was a designer on Fallout 2, Van Buren (Interplay's canceled version of Fallout 3), and Fallout New Vegas (as well as director of its DLC) – was asked on Twitter about the speculation that Bethesda hates Obsidian or the Fallout franchise at large (which, I don't think makes much sense, but it's weirdly prevalent). He responds, "I don't think Bethesda hates Fallout, they just don't fully understand its roots and arguably, don't care."

He continues, "They own the franchise, and they just want to do their spin on Fallout and make that the norm." Avellone explains that Bethesda's take "usually translates into a colorful, shallow theme park," but he adds, "theme parks are fun for some folks, so if people enjoy it, that’s fine with me." He also shouts out Bethesda for doing interesting things with the franchise with its DLC expansions like Far Harbor, Point Lookout, and The Pitt.

But despite the somewhat critical look of its version of Fallout, Avellone assures that "I don't hate Bethesda, there are things they do well (open-world exploration), and there are things they do badly (telling linear stories in open-world games and their inability to understand how to use the Speech skill). But every developer has their pros and cons."

Fallout creators wanted to buy the IP, but Bethesda sniped them with a $6 million bid: "They would have laughed."

Scott McCrae
Scott McCrae
Contributor

Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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