Baldur’s Gate 3 was the slam dunk GOTY winner of 2023, and that was despite a year that had an incredible amount of competition from Alan Wake to Zelda. But now fans are flipping out a bit over the mere idea that developer Larian could and/or should make a new Fallout game.
This is based on a quote from verbose Larian CEO Swen Vincke who talks about what they wanted to work on outside of Baldur’s Gate before they landed that:
“I felt like there was a glass ceiling that we wouldn’t be able to break through unless we have triple-A production values, budget, marketing, all the triple-A things,” Vinke said in Edge. “It would have been Ultima, it would have been Fallout, it would have been Baldur’s Gate. There was not a lot to choose from.”
This was many, many years ago, of course. Larian began work on Baldur’s Gate 3 eight(!) years ago in 2016. That was post-Fallout 4 in 2015 and pre-Fallout 76 in 2018, where the series arguably lost its way (with a horrible launch that yes, in the last six years has been transformed into a solid game with a good community).
Even though Larian is talking about an idea from eight years ago, fans have latched on to this quote. Fallout fans have been starving for a big Fallout game, and many don’t count 76 because they want a traditional single player experience. Plus, that game is quite technically dated at this point, if nothing else. But the problem is that Bethesda spent five years on Starfield and will now spend even more years on Elder Scrolls VI. They have very much made it clear they will make Fallout 5, but at the current pace of things, that may not be until what, 2030?
Fans essentially want some other studio to pull a Fallout New Vegas, the in-between game from Obsidian that is beloved by fans. Fallout is now owned by Microsoft, as is Obsidian, so the idea is someone in there could make a faster Fallout game, and if not Obsidian, another studio they own. But…what about one they don’t own? Could they contract Larian to make their next game a new Fallout entry?
Don’t get me wrong, I would love for this to happen and honestly I would prefer they make a Fallout game over Bethesda at this point, honestly. I think Microsoft should try to get them on board.
But the reality and logistics of this are incredibly difficult, if not impossible. Larian has reportedly already moved on to two other RPGs in development after leaving the Baldur’s license behind with Wizards of the Coast. And assume Microsoft pays them a zillion dollars (or just buys them, as they are prone to do) and has them start a Fallout game tomorrow. How long do you think it would take Larian to make a full Fallout game when Baldur’s Gate 3 (understandably) took eight years? Well, probably 2030+, at least, and that’s…when Fallout 5 may be out.
A smaller Fallout game similar to New Vegas that’s not a mainline one from Larian would be welcome. But I just don’t see it happening given the reality of the situation.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
