Fallout 3 FAQ

Who is making and publishing Fallout 3?
Fallout 3 is being developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks.

Who will publish/distribute the game outside the United States?
No foreign publisher details have been disclosed at this time.

When is it going to be released?
According to the Fallout 3 teaser, the release date is Fall 2008.

Is there going to be a demo?
It is not known at this time. While Fallout and Fallout Tactics (but not Fallout 2) had demos, Bethesda's Elder Scrolls games did not.

Wasn't a demo already leaked?
No, you're probably thinking of the pre-alpha tech demo of Van Buren, the cancelled Fallout 3 developed by Black Isle Studios.

Is there going to be a trailer?
A cinematic teaser trailer is available at Fallout 3's official website.

What platforms will it be released for?
The game will be released for the PC, XBox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Will the game be ported from consoles to PC or vice versa?
Fallout 3 is being concurrently developed from the ground up for all 3 platforms.

Will there be a Mac version?
A Mac version is possible if a Mac game publisher will be interested in porting the game. According to Lindsay Muller, a representative of Bethesda's marketing department:
 * It could happen if there is a large enough demand and if we are approached by a Mac games publisher such as Macsoft or Aspyr. Bethesda Softworks would not port it. So if you want to see Fallout 3 or any of our other games ported to Mac, contact either or both Mac publisher and request it.

When is Fallout 3 set? How long after the previous games?
The game is set in 2277, exactly 200 years after the Great War, 116 years after Fallout and 36 years after Fallout 2.

Where is the game set?
Fallout 3 is set on the East Coast of the United States, mainly in Washington, DC and its surroundings.

Is Fallout Tactics treated as canon?
It is currently unknown whether Bethesda treats the events of Fallout Tactics as canon, and if yes, whether any of them will be retconned to fit with better with the setting.

Is Van Buren treated as canon?
It is currently unknown whether Van Buren, the cancelled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios will be treated as canon, although it is unlikely. However, since the game is set on the East Coast, the developers might avoid this issue altogether by neither referencing nor contradicting the Van Buren storyline.

Is Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel treated as canon?
Given that some of the Bethesda developers have expressed their negativity towards this game, it is unlikely that any of its storyline will be referenced.

Are super mutants going to be in Fallout 3?
Yes, there will be super mutants, according to the July 2007 issue of Game Informer.

But they're so different! Why don't they look like the old ones?
Indeed, the Fallout 3 super mutants don't look much like the ones from the first 2 Fallout games. The ones shown so far lack the hunched posture, cancerous tissue overgrowth, and are generally less bulky than their counterparts from earlier games. It should be noted that super mutants in Fallout Tactics also had many differences to the ones from Fallout and Fallout 2. As the screenshots shown in the Game Informer magazine are early, the appearance of super mutants might still change.

Why are there super mutants on the East Coast? Shouldn't they all be in California?
According to a Fallout ending, most super mutants fled to the East after the death of the Master. It's not implausible for at least some them to have reached the East Coast after 115 years.
 * The death of the Master was the first major step towards ending his mad dream of conquest and enforced peace, but it is the destruction of the Vats that neutralizes the mutant threat. Without the ability to create more mutants and enforce their harsh brand of justice, the mutant armies flee to the east, beyond the no-man's land.

Does it mean that they're not sterile, then?
No, super mutants are definitely sterile.

ZAX in Fallout says:
 * Additionally, as the gametes of the reproductive system consist of 'half-cells' using split DNA, they could be perceived as 'damage' by FEV, which would 'repair' them, rendering the subject sterile.

And according to Vree:
 * While the process by which this happens is uncertain, it does have some severe side effects. Chief among them is sterility.

But didn't Marcus say in Fallout 2 that they can now reproduce?
According to Chris Avellone, who wrote most of the New Reno dialogues, the single remark by Marcus in a New Reno brothel is a joke.


 * Marcus was joking in New Reno. Super mutants are sterile. Blame me for another episode of bad humor, oh cruel reader.

If they can't reproduce, shouldn't they all be dead by now?
No, according to ZAX in Fallout:


 * As the FEV causes constant regenerative update to DNA, it would effectively render the subject largely immortal, as cell death would be offset by augmented growth.

So while they can be killed, they can otherwise live forever. The same applies to Harold.

Is the Brotherhood of Steel going to be in Fallout 3?
Yes, according to the Fallout 3 teaser and the Game Informer article.

Is it the original Brotherhood or the Eastern Brotherhood from Tactics?
It is not known yet whether it's the original Brotherhood or the Eastern Brotherhood (while the position of the gears in the Brotherhood symbol is the same as in the original Brotherhood emblem, the insignia, instead of being blue, black and grey as in the original Brotherhood, is blue, like the one used by Knights and Paladins of the Eastern Brotherhood).

How did the Brotherhood get to the East Coast
If Fallout Tactics is treated as canon, the Eastern Brotherhood could have easily reached Washington, DC in 2277. If not, if the original Brotherhood acquired the Vertibird plans at the end of Fallout 2, they might have sent some scouts/established an outpost on the East Coast as well. However, it is currently unknown what the explanation of Brotherhood's presence in Fallout 3 will be.