Fallout 4

Fallout 4 is a future game that will be created and published by Bethesda Softworks after Fallout 3 (2008). Initially, in 2004, Bethesda licensed the rights to create and publish three Fallout games from Interplay. However, in 2007 the company purchased the entire franchise, with Interplay licensing the rights to a Fallout MMORPG from Bethesda.

Bethesda's Pete Hines said: "The whole reason we went out and acquired the license and that we now own Fallout is that we clearly intended to make more than one." He also added: "This is not something we're going to do once and then go away and never do it again. When that will be or how long that will be God only knows, but we acquired it specifically because we wanted to own it and develop it and work on it like we do with The Elder Scrolls."

What we heard: It's been all of 10 years since Interplay and Black Isle Studio's Fallout 2 arrived to rapt critical reception for the PC. And if executive producer Todd Howard has his way, fans of the franchise shouldn't have to wait another decade after Fallout 3 for another postapocalyptic role-playing fix.

Speaking to Reuters, Howard addressed the franchise's long absence from the gaming scene, saying the latest installment has been too long in coming. "I think it's good for people to miss things," he said. "Ten years between Fallout is a bit long, but I think there's this nostalgia factor."

And then things get a little screwy. Seemingly unaware of the average gamers' excitability factor, Reuters then floated mention of "Fallout 4," and paraphrased the game's executive producer as saying, "he believes three years is a good time frame between games." Not unexpectedly, this one-two combo exploded with its own atomic ferocity across many a gaming Web site, with the common consensus being that Howard had confirmed Fallout 3's successor as being a mere three years off.

The official story: "He wasn't trying to say anything about how long it will be between the Fallout 3 and the next one," said a Bethesda Softworks representative. "Rather, it was a comment about the fact that 10 years was too long between the last Fallout games and Fallout 3. We aren't setting any kind of timeframe or timetable for the next Fallout. We haven't even released this one yet, though at least we're now very, very close."

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus...that a date is officially confirmed. However, given the massive hype, decade-long anticipation, and amount of critical praise Fallout 3 has already received, a sequel looks likely. Keep in mind, though, there was a four-year gap between Elder Scrolls III and IV.

The company's VP of public relations tells Edge that it would be more accurate to expect Fallout 4 "before 2018" (since Howard did say 10 years was too long to wait). Geeze, by that time, we'll probably be living in our own apocalyptic wasteland, and Fallout will just be the game we play when we go outside.

Past attempts
Black Isle Studios also planned to make a Fallout 4 after their Fallout 3 project (Van Buren). The Caesar's Legion was going to play a major role in it.