Bethesda's Roadmap Dominates 4 New Fallout Projects

Gaming news has been rough lately; discs disappearing, layoffs piling up, barely any good news in sight. Bethesda just broke that streak with a massive announcement, and if you're a fan, this is worth reading top to bottom.

Word going around suggests that Bethesda's parent company pushed hard for changes at the studio recently, reportedly giving Obsidian a bigger role in future Fallout projects. Whatever sparked it, the company responded with a detailed statement about where things are headed, and it touches on nearly every corner of the studio's output.

Bethesda opened by talking about what's driving the company forward.

Investing more in the world's players already love, giving creators more freedom to shape their own experiences, and getting games out to you faster. That last point matters a lot, since Bethesda has built a reputation for long gaps between major releases.

Before diving into the big stuff, Bethesda addressed Starfield. You're looking at over 17 million players and nearly a billion hours logged so far. The studio says Starfield is heading into its third year with new stories, gameplay tweaks, and updates, plus a bigger expansion called Starborn content arriving next year.

More than 40% of players are already using Creations to customize their playthroughs, and Bethesda plans to keep investing there. Reading between the lines, though, this sounds like Starfield is getting one more major push before the gaming company quietly moves on.

Bethesda also touched on its modding tools, tracing them all the way back to the Morrowind Construction Set. This year, Creations expanded to Fallout 4 alongside Skyrim and Starfield, and creators have reportedly earned more than $10 million in royalties from their work. Don't be surprised if they leans further into monetizing this space going forward, similar to what's expected from GTA 6's approach to player-made content.

Bethesda confirmed Fallout 5 is real, though it's described as a long-range goal rather than something arriving soon.

At the same time, they currently have multiple Fallout projects in active development. Fallout 76 isn't going anywhere either. With nearly 70 free updates already released, Bethesda announced a major expansion coming next year called Raven Rock, a prequel tied to the story of Fallout 3 and Fallout 4.

It's more proof that Bethesda still sees value in supporting its live-service Fallout title, even if plenty of fans would rather see that energy poured into single-player entries. Speaking of Fallout 4, the studio highlighted it as the most awarded game in franchise history, now sitting past 35 million copies sold and still picking up new players every year. That's a serious number for a game that's been out for a decade.

Then comes what might be the biggest reveal in the entire announcement. Bethesda confirmed it has been working on remasters for both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. No release dates were shared, but simply confirming both projects exist is a massive deal. Fans have wanted a Fallout 3 remaster for years, and New Vegas has long been considered one of the best entries in the series thanks to Obsidian's original work on it.

That brings the confirmed Fallout lineup to three major projects: Fallout 5, a Fallout 3 remaster, and a New Vegas remaster. That wasn't the end of it. Fallout Shelter, the mobile spinoff, remains hugely popular with more than 250 million players to date. New seasons are coming, along with an unscripted Fallout Shelter television project being developed with Amazon Studios and Kilter Films.

Bethesda congratulated Kilter Films and Amazon Studios on 10 Emmy nominations for Fallout Season 2, and confirmed Season 3 is already in production.

There won't be a traditional Fallout Day event this year, but Bethesda teased that something bigger is being planned for Fallout's 30th anniversary in 2027, with a live celebration happening in Washington, D.C. Considering Fallout 3 is set in the D.C. wasteland, it wouldn't be shocking if that exact event was used to launch the Fallout 3 remaster.

One thing Bethesda did reveal was that Obsidian Entertainment has been hired to work on a Fallout project. Not much has been revealed just yet, but the studio said that it will provide more information at a later stage. This comes after the successful involvement of Obsidian with New Vegas.

On top of that, Bethesda revealed it's bringing its teams closer together with ZeniMax Online Studios, the team behind Elder Scrolls Online. Going forward, ZeniMax Online will partner closely with Bethesda on the Elder Scrolls franchise while continuing to support Elder Scrolls Online, which just launched its Return of the Thieves Guild season.

Put all of that together, and here's what the pipeline looks like: a Fallout 3 remaster, likely followed by a New Vegas remaster, then Obsidian's new Fallout project, and eventually Fallout 5 somewhere down the road. That's two remasters and two new games in the pipeline, which is an enormous amount of content for any Fallout fan to look forward to.

Bethesda then shifted focus to its biggest projects.

They revealed that both Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 are being built on Creation Engine 3, a new shared technology platform the studio has been developing since Starfield launched. This engine is designed to let the teams work on multiple projects at once, with upgraded tools and rendering systems powering everything going forward.

Fallout 5 is currently in pre-production, meaning it's still early days for that project. As for Elder Scrolls VI, it was confirmed that it's the studio's main priority right now, with the majority of the team currently focused on development. Skyrim has sold more than 65 million copies, and players are still playing it 15 years after launch, but they acknowledged the wait for a true sequel has been long.

According to the statement, the game is looking good, and the team is actively playing through it during development. Bethesda then finished up with a renewed focus on its Fallout, Elder Scrolls, and Starfield brands, alongside a renewed focus on technologies, teamwork among teams, live gaming, and even more entertainment ventures through its franchises.

Now, what does all of this imply for the release schedule? It is highly probable that the Fallout 3 remaster will kick off everything in its role as part of the 2027 anniversary. Then it will be a matter of deciding whether Elder Scrolls VI or the new Fallout from Obsidian will come second, with the New Vegas remaster third. Of course, Fallout 5 is still very far away indeed.

Either way, Bethesda just handed fans one of the biggest roadmaps in its history. Between two remasters, a new Obsidian collaboration, Elder Scrolls VI, and Fallout 5, all confirmed in a single statement, this is easily the most exciting update the company has given in years. After a rough stretch of gaming news across the industry, They delivered exactly the kind of announcement fans needed.