Fallout 5 Is Making Progress but a Promising MMO Was Scrapped to Make It Happen

The Fallout franchise is finally coming back to life after years without any updates on a new single-player title.

Fallout 5 has reportedly been greenlit and is now in active development. This next chapter in the post-apocalyptic series did not come out of nowhere because something had to be sacrificed along the way.

And that something was a high-potential project that never got the chance to see the light of day.

Fallout is one of the most iconic properties in modern gaming, and its resurgence through the Amazon TV show only reignited interest in where the series might go next.

Fans have been asking for a proper follow-up to Fallout 4 for almost a decade, especially after Fallout 76 left many players divided.

Bethesda said The Elder Scrolls 6 would come before a new Fallout, but now things have shifted toward Fallout because of a calculated move by Microsoft.

Is Fallout 5 Confirmed?

Insider Jez Corden reports that Fallout 5 has been approved internally, and Microsoft is committing major resources to it.

To make this happen, Bethesda had to abandon a different title: a sci-fi MMO codenamed Project Blackbird from ZeniMax Online Studios. Blackbird has been in development since 2018 and recently entered a more serious stage with a new engine and strong internal support.

But despite the early momentum, Microsoft chose to cancel it. It all boiled down to risk since MMOs demand a huge amount of time, budget, and manpower to get off the ground, and even then, there’s no guarantee of success.

Big titles like Final Fantasy XIV, World of Warcraft, and ZeniMax’s Elder Scrolls Online already lead the market, so Microsoft reportedly chose to invest more in Fallout for a steadier payoff.

Blackbird, despite being promising, was ultimately deemed a gamble the company wasn’t willing to take.

Which Studio Is Handling Fallout 5?

It’s still unclear who is working on Fallout 5 since Bethesda’s main teams are busy with Starfield’s post-launch updates and developing The Elder Scrolls 6.

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Todd Howard once mentioned that Fallout 5 wouldn’t start development until Elder Scrolls made more progress, but Fallout getting greenlit hints at a change in plans.

Since Bethesda’s main talent is busy, many think a new internal team or an Xbox studio group has been tasked with kicking things off. According to insiders, Obsidian Entertainment is not working on this despite being known for Fallout: New Vegas.

The goal seems to be assembling a Fallout team with a long-term focus. That could include developers from ZeniMax’s canceled MMO or others from across Microsoft’s network of studios.

When Is Fallout 5 Releasing?

Fallout 5 is being worked on, but it’s far from ready, so don’t expect it to launch anytime soon.

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With Elder Scrolls 6 still a few years out and Fallout just beginning pre-production, a release window around 2030 is a reasonable bet.

That said, there are reportedly other Fallout-related projects in development to help fill the gap. Some rumors suggest a remaster of Fallout 3 could be coming sooner, possibly to keep the brand alive while the mainline sequel takes shape.

So, while the road ahead is long, the wheels are officially turning. Fallout 5 is underway, but the path required shelving a beloved internal project in favor of a less risky gamble. For longtime fans of Fallout, that tradeoff might just be worth it.

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