Iconic RPG Fallout: New Vegas is getting a dramatic visual overhaul on PC, with a fan-made project seeking to breathe new life into the game using cutting-edge visual techniques. The in-development mod aims to bring improved lighting, textures, material quality, and more to Fallout: New Vegas.
Released in 2010, Fallout: New Vegas is widely regarded among the best Fallout games ever made thanks to its deeply explorable world, exceptionally well-written plot lines, rich faction mechanics, and post-apocalyptic Western-inspired Mojave Desert setting. Despite its aging visuals and technical limitations, Fallout: New Vegas remains popular even a decade and a half after launch. While Obsidian and Bethesda remain tight-lipped on the prospect of a Fallout: New Vegas remaster or sequel, an active modding community on PC continues to support and expand the beloved RPG.
Fallout: New Vegas 2 Is More Likely Than Ever Now
Recent Xbox development rumors have suggested that a follow-up to Fallout: New Vegas and other Fallout titles may be in early development
Modder and YouTuber skurtyyskirts has taken up the baton to rectify Fallout: New Vegas' dated graphics with an ambitious Nvidia RTX Remix mod, which aims to heavily modernize the Mojave Wasteland visually. Built using the same toolkit behind Half-Life 2 RTX, this in-progress mod introduces fully path-traced lighting, realistic PBR (Physically Based Rendering) materials, and nearly complete texture overhauls for Fallout: New Vegas. Interior shots, like those of the Goodsprings saloon, already show noticeable visual upgrades, with neon lights casting dynamic glows and surfaces reflecting with newfound depth.
Everything the Fallout: New Vegas RTX Mod Adds to The Game
- Fully path-traced visuals, including physically accurate shadows, reflections, and global illumination.
- Full PBR (Physically-Based Rendering) material overhaul for nearly every in-game asset.
- "Iconic" weapons, armor, and terminals have been completely remastered by hand in Substance Painter.
- Dynamic "sun-shafts" through broken rooftops and per-light volumetrics to make interiors feel appropriately dusty and atmospheric.
- High-fidelity details, like irradiated water puddles that realistically reflect the broken world and cracked asphalt roads with full height-map details.
- Pip-Boy and certain active computer terminals feature subtle Nvidia green accents and glows as a nod to the underlying tech of the mod.
According to skurtyyskirts, the Fallout: New Vegas RTX mod is now in full production following strong community support, and there are no plans to use AI-generated textures; each asset will be handcrafted for quality and authenticity. However, not everything translates seamlessly. Some have lamented the absence of Fallout: New Vegas' hallmark orange-brown color palette - a product of its pre-baked lighting and post-apocalyptic art direction. While this does enhance realism, the cleaner and more photorealistic aesthetic can compromise some of the original game's intended atmosphere, especially in outdoor scenes.
Fallout: New Vegas RTX is also part of ModDB's RTX Remix contest, which features a $50,000 prize pool and has given rise to similar visual overhaul projects for iconic PC games like Quake, Manhunt, and Max Payne. With no official remaster or sequel to Fallout: New Vegas in sight, skurtyyskirts' RTX mod might well be the closest fans get to a modern version of Obsidian's classic RPG, but only on PC.
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
- Engine
- Gamebryo
- Franchise
- Fallout
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- RPG
