Fallout New Vegas was a 2010 GOTY for me, and a sequel would be perfect timing for where the TV show is heading

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Fallout: New Vegas is a prime example of a spin-off game done right. Having completed Fallout 3 in 2009, I wasn’t expecting a new title so soon. But having visited Las Venturas in 2004’s GTA: San Andreas at roughly the same time, I thought I’d seen everything Sin City had to offer. Developer Obsidian felt otherwise.

Developed within an 18-month time window, not too dissimilar to how Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask was made, Fallout: New Vegas takes place four years after Fallout 3. Set in the Mojave Wasteland, a brand new open world, players become involved in a plot with the abandoned Hoover Dam, now part of a power struggle between the NCR and Caesar’s Legion. What follows is a great narrative where certain choices will decide the fate of the story and New Vegas as a whole.

The game was very successful, critically and financially. Even in 2026, fans are still hoping that a remastered version will come to new platforms, including Nintendo Switch 2. However, I feel like it’s time for a fully-fledged sequel to see where New Vegas is, especially with some of it featuring in Fallout season 2.

Warning: If you haven’t played New Vegas, potential spoilers are below!

All-in on the black

Portal to 2010

Fallout New Vegas review: "Despite all the radioactive bugs, wandering the wasteland is still great"

Every time I start Fallout: New Vegas, it feels like a time warp, but in a good way. I recall looking at plenty of photos featuring the old Las Vegas when my grandparents would visit in the late ‘80s. Going to the gamified version of Vegas in Obsidian’s 2010 spinoff has always been a great time, but to think of an updated version in a sequel is alluring.

However, it does depend on how New Vegas 2 would tackle one of two decisions from the previous game’s ending. Once players face Mr House, they’re faced with a choice of joining him to take over New Vegas or leaving the Mojave Desert free of a dictatorship. A sequel should follow on from the latter option.

Yes, the idea of taking over New Vegas sounds fun, narratively, but from a gameplay perspective, it would feel restrictive on where else the player could go as they try to maintain order within the city. Defeating Mr House and seeing what else is out there in the Mojave Wasteland, as well as returning to a bigger and much-improved New Vegas, could be a great way to expand on the spinoff.

But it’s also important to mention how quickly Fallout: New Vegas was made. Because of the 18-month timeline from concept to release, plenty of locations and characters were scrapped. Fortunately, The Cutting Room Floor, a site dedicated to cut content, has a page dedicated to what was left out of New Vegas. From the Deathclaw Gauntlet, apparently returning from Fallout 3, to a cut bunker at Cottonwood Cove, there’s a lot to revisit.

But one big absence was a large chunk of the Colorado River, featuring more of Caesar’s Legion and its main base. Plenty of dialogue and character models were left unused, but this could be a great way to start Fallout: New Vegas 2, and perfectly cross with the TV show.

A Legion reborn

Macaulay Culkin in Fallout season 2 — (Image credit: Prime Video)

A sequel that lets you march back to the Mojave wasteland in a 4K landscape feels like the next inevitable step

A big draw of Fallout: New Vegas was the factions, but Caesar’s Legion was markedly underused. For a supposed sequel, perhaps becoming a soldier here and working your way up to running the show could be an alluring way to revisit the landscape, decades later. The player could even meet the courier, the first game's protagonist, to link the two titles.

Of course, the second season of the Fallout TV show is showcasing the Legion, with Macaulay Culkin playing second-in-command soldier Lacerta Legate. At the time of writing, it looks like Caesar's divided successor(s) may find an untimely end, much like how the player is given a choice of killing or curing him in the game.

Continuing this narrative with a New Vegas 2, where a new soldier follows Legate as the leader of the Legion, could be a great starting point. New factions could also emerge, introducing new methods for managing groups to counter opposing forces, and potentially face off against Legate, who would offer the choice of taking over the Legion or joining him as a second-in-command.

Granted, this is all speculative, but Bethesda is clearly focusing on Fallout becoming a franchise that can work in all kinds of media. New Vegas 2 feels like a natural step in 2026 or beyond, something seen as near-impossible in 2010, considering it felt like there was no further interest in the franchise, especially once the online-based Fallout 76 came out in 2018.

When you combine this with Fallout’s TV show returning to New Vegas, a sequel that lets you march back to the Mojave wasteland in a 4K landscape feels like the next inevitable step, which could make plenty of players ring-a-ding-ding all over again in glee.

Combine it with the inevitable graphical upgrades and vast landscapes, New Vegas 2 feels like an inevitability, rather than hopeful speculation.

When you're done playing what-if with me, why not explore the best Fallout games of all time?