“When Fallout 5 comes out, people will play it, but I believe there will always be people that come back and play 76,” says Bethesda dev
"Whatever is decided for a Fallout 5 in the future is going to co-exist with those games, just like the TV show.”
While the recent success of Amazon's Fallout TV show has been a boon for all of the series' existing entries, including Fallout 76, it also left a lot of folks wondering when the next big Fallout game - Fallout 5 - might actually arrive.
Even if it’s pretty clear that The Elder Scrolls 6 will be arriving before Fallout 5 does, you can't blame Fallout fans - both new and veteran - for having had their imaginations dragged to the future of the wasteland. Especially since Fallout 4 is getting very close to being a decade old.
So, during a recent interview with Fallout 76 lead producer Bill LaCoste at a preview for the Skyline Valley expansion, I asked the developer how he feels 76 fits with regards to the wider series at this point, specifically in terms of whether its role is to help bridge the gap between Fallouts 4 and 5.
“We have a long-term plan for 76 and I don't think we'll be expected to really bridge any gaps between the games,” he told me, having stressed that he'd leave Fallout 5 itself as something for Todd Howard to talk about when he's ready to. “This game, it exists in this part of the [Fallout] world during this part of the [overall series] timeline, and whatever is decided for a Fallout 5 in the future is going to co-exist with those games, just like the TV show.”
In terms of how he thinks Fallout 5’s eventual release might impact 76 in terms of player attention, he added: “I think we will constantly or consistently have players who still play 76, because we still have players who play Fallout 4, Fallout 3, even two and one because those got re-released, and they play 76 as well. I think that that will be the same case even when Fallout 5 comes out, people will go play it of course, but I believe there will be a number of people who always come back and play 76, as [they’re] just playing a game within the Fallout universe.”
Given how well known the Fallout fanbase is for keeping games alive and fresh long after release through modding, LaCoste's belief that some of them will keep coming back to 76 even once Fallout 5's blessed us all with its presence certainly doesn't seem outlandish. Even if I'm left wondering just how quiet Appalachia might get in the immediate aftermath of its release.
During the same interview, we also asked LaCoste what the team behind 76 thought of Xbox boss Phil Spencer's C.A.M.P getting nuked a little bit ago, so make sure you go read that if you're curious.