A Fallout game that was being developed by an Xbox-owned studio will no longer see the light of day, according to games industry veteran Jeff Gerstmann, who no longer believes it will be released and suggests it may already have been cancelled.
Gerstmann, formerly of GameSpot and co-founder of Giant Bomb, revealed this detail during a recent episode of his podcast, The Jeff Gerstmann Show. He did not specify which studio was working on the game or what its scope was, instead simply verifying that he had heard about its existence before stating that it will likely never be released.
The cancelled project raises questions about Microsoft's strategy for the Fallout franchise following the surprise success of the Fallout television series on Amazon Prime. Some observers have speculated that Microsoft may have attempted to fast-track a Fallout game in response to the show's popularity, but the project simply wasn't coming along.
What's clear from Gerstmann's reporting is that Todd Howard and Bethesda as a whole would rather staff up at Bethesda Game Studios to ensure they have what they need to make these games themselves, rather than assign such work to another team. When it comes to new mainline entries in either the Fallout or Elder Scrolls franchises, Bethesda Game Studios seems keen to keep them in-house, though this is unlikely to please those who consider Obsidian's Fallout: New Vegas the best title in the series.
The one exception to this pattern involves remakes and remasters. The recent The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered was handled by Virtuos, and a similar development strategy will be adopted with the upcoming Fallout 3 remaster. Toy listings this week have once again "confirmed" the Fallout 3 remaster project through new McFarlane toy listings.
The specifics of what Gerstmann was referring to remain unclear. Since he didn't divulge which studio was working on the cancelled game, nor did he provide details about its nature, it's difficult to determine whether this was a major sequel, a smaller spin-off like Fallout Shelter, or something else entirely. Gerstmann believes those at Bethesda Game Studios prefer to be the only company working with the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls properties, given that they have future plans for both franchises.
For now, the focus appears to be on The Jeff Gerstmann Show and other ongoing projects. Fans of the series will have to wait several years before any official new Fallout title emerges from Bethesda's studios.