The following article contains spoilers for Amazon Prime Video's Fallout series and Fallout: New Vegas.
In the short time since the Fallout Show’s release, fans have been debating whether the show has retconned parts of the mainline Fallout games. The popularity of this debate has caught the attention of all sorts of firsthand sources of Fallout lore, including former developers from Interplay who worked on the original Fallout games, members of the Fallout Show’s production, and even Bethesda Studios’ Director, Todd Howard.
However, after being clarified by official sources, the timeline of the Fallout games now faces yet another tough situation. This time around, concerning the implications of establishing canon endings for the Fallout franchise games, with New Vegas in particular being something to consider.
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The Fallout Show’s Retcon Controversy Explained
The alleged retcon that has fans riled up is how a particular event in the Fallout Show seemingly conflicts with other known events in the Fallout franchise games. Specifically, in the Fallout Show in Season One, Episode Six: The Trap, a timeline can be seen depicting the fall of Shady Sands and the end of the NCR in 2277. However, the NCR was still a prominent faction in 2281 during the events of Fallout: New Vegas’ main storyline, so these two dates don’t quite line up.
Where the confusion of this being a retcon comes from is how the show implies that the fall of Shady Sands was a sudden event that occurred in 2277. However, in an interview with IGN, Todd Howard clarified the Shady Sands retcon controversy. Evidently, the demise of Shady Sands was a gradual event, with 2277 marking the beginning of this downfall, whereas the city and the NCR’s destruction didn’t occur until a few years afterward.
Which Endings for Fallout: New Vegas’ Base Game and DLCs are Considered Canon?
While this clarification resolves the heated retcon debate, the Fallout Show’s representation of Fallout: New Vegas still faces another unresolved issue concerning the timeline. Specifically, there are concerns that the Fallout Show is establishing canon endings for the games and what this means for the franchise.
With the Fallout Show’s Season One finale setting up New Vegas to be a central location in Season Two, the true canon endings for Fallout: New Vegas’ base game and its DLCs are expected to be revealed in due time, though signs currently point toward a handful of likely possibilities.
Fallout: New Vegas (Base Game)
In order for the NCR faction to have had the strength to develop Shady Sands into the largest post-war civilization, they would have needed to survive the events of Fallout: New Vegas’ story and remain on the West Coast. This ultimately means that either one of the NCR, Mr. House, or Yes Man endings could be the canon ending.
Fallout: New Vegas Dead Money DLC
Because this DLC takes place before the other DLCs for Fallout: New Vegas, there’s only one possible ending that would allow the events of the future DLCs to happen. Specifically, the ending where the player character betrays Elijah and escapes the Sierra Madre is the canon ending of this DLC.
Fallout: New Vegas Lonesome Road DLC
Seeing as how the endings for this particular DLC for Fallout: New Vegas can directly impact the NCR, this Fallout franchise timeline suggests that the canon ending for the Lonesome Road DLC is between one of two endings. This DLC would either have to be ended by Ed-E disarming the missiles, or the player-character using the missiles to target Ceasar’s Legion.
With the Fallout franchise being as big as it is, it was only a matter of time until a sequel came along and established which of the past games’ endings are canon. Yet, while this clarifies the timeline, there are concerns that establishing canon endings undermines the player’s freedom of choice in the Fallout games. This has been a growing concern with the modern Fallout games, so the Fallout Show establishing canon endings could be quite a double-edged sword.
- Video Game(s)
- Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Fallout Shelter, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel
- Creation Year
- 1997
Fallout is a franchise built around a series of RPGs set in a post-nuclear world, in which great vaults have been built to shelter parts of humankind. There are six main games, various spin-offs, tabletop games, and a TV series from Amazon Studios.
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