Bethesda has plans for Fallout’s 25th Anniversary!
No, we didn’t accidentally miss out “big”; if anything, the events Bethesda has revealed so far are a little underwhelming. We’re hoping that the company, which owns to the rights to the Fallout series has something really, really special planned for the anniversary – they just want it to be a surprise.
The original Fallout, released on the PC in October 1997, was an isometric, turn-based post-apocalyptic RPG. It saw your Vault Dweller leaving the comfort of their shelter to search out a life-saving replacement water-chip. It was a commercial success, enough to warrant a sequel and a couple of spin-offs.
Interplay published the first four Fallout games, Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel and the console-based Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel. But Bethesda Softworks has since acquired the series, which is why the company is spearheading the celebrations. They’ve planned a whole month of 25th Anniversary events, including the following:
- A Fallout 76 Free Play Week, from today until to October 11th.
- Amazon Prime subscribers get Fallout 76 for free, through Prime Gaming.
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers get a free month of Fallout 1st, Fallout 76’s premium tier.
- A P.A.L.S. quiz to help you discover your faction.
- A Fallout 25th Anniversary stream taking place on October 7th via Twitch.
- New Fallout Shelter content, the first in four years.
- Fallout Creation Club giveaways and discounts.
- A free dynamic background for Xbox Series X|S.
You can find the full list of events here. Many are tied into Fallout 76, which is Bethesda’s online-only Fallout title. Yes, it’s come on in leaps and bounds since its disappointing launch, but it’s still geared towards getting players to spend real money. For example, that free month of Fallout 1st may seem tempting but it may be that if you don’t cancel it it’ll turn into a rolling subscription.
While we're celebrating 25 years of Fallout all month long, take a look at everything that's coming this week: https://t.co/kS1XxrT3W3#Fallout25 pic.twitter.com/A9XENFItdB
— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) October 3, 2022
We do have some hopes for the 25th Anniversary stream; we’ve been craving a Fallout 3 or Fallout: New Vegas remaster for a long time. But all we’ve received so far is crushing disappointment.
So what would we have liked to see from this anniversary event? Ideally, some kind of deep dive into the conception of the original, complete with new interviews, previously unrevealed insights and more.
Since Bethesda only purchased the Fallout series in 2007, that might have been a little complicated. But given that the original Fallout helped popularise post-apocalyptic gaming, we feel like it deserves more attention.
