As the mystery Fallout countdown continues, Bethesda has released a new ad for the series, which fans think is teasing a Fallout 3 remaster.
It’s well documented how beneficial Amazon’s Fallout TV show has been for sales of the games, which is why it’s unfortunate that Bethesda still doesn’t have a new title to capitalise on it.
The last traditional single-player entry, Fallout 4, is more than a decade old now and even multiplayer spin-off Fallout 76 is getting on a bit, after seven years. And with Fallout 5 not due any time soon, it would make sense for Bethesda to have one or two remasters in the pipeline to keep fans satiated.
A Fallout 3 remaster was accidentally outed by Microsoft a few years ago and amid speculation of a formal announcement in the near future, Bethesda has dropped a new Fallout advert that has only reinvigorated that speculation.
The advert features Aaron Moten – who plays Maximus in the Fallout show – living with series mascot Vault Boy and promotes the franchise in general, ending with a splash screen to let you know Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 76, and Fallout Shelter are all available to play right now.
But when Moten asks his roommate why the place is messy, a text box with dialogue options appears, which fans quickly recognised as specifically being lifted from Fallout 3.
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Later, after playing some Fallout 76, the two are shown standing in the ruins of Washington D.C., where they encounter a super mutant. Again, both of these elements are from Fallout 3, with the ad lifting gameplay footage from it.
That said, similar scenes play out that see the two superimposed over footage from the other Fallout games too… except for Fallout 4, for some reason, which is strange when that game saw an Anniversary Edition update just a couple of months ago.
Whether Bethesda is deliberately hinting at something or not, it’s certainly got some fans believing remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas (which has also been rumoured) are on the way as evidenced by some of the top YouTube comments.
‘Very interesting choice to use the Fallout 3 dialogue system… remake incoming?’
‘Come on Bethesda stop with the teasing of Fallout 3 annd Fallout New Vegas remasters! Please give it!’
‘Surely this means a Fallout 3/New Vegas remake is near.’
As a reminder, the official website for the Fallout TV show has a mysterious countdown that’s scheduled to end in less than 22 hours following the final episode of season two.
The running theory is that it’s for an official Fallout 3 remaster announcement, with some suspecting it could even launch immediately, as a shadow drop.
This is based on the fact Bethesda previously shadow-dropped its remaster of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion and Bethesda’s own studio director Tom Mustaine has said Bethesda would love to do more shadow drops in the future.
‘Todd Howard, the boss man, he’s wanted to shadow drop things for a long time because it’s so great to be able to say, ‘Here’s the thing, get it today.’ It’s very valuable,’ Mustaine told GamesRadar).
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Even if a Fallout 3 remaster isn’t announced tomorrow, there’s too much scuttlebutt for it not to be a thing at this point. Aside from the fact that Microsoft itself leaked its existence, reliable insider NateTheHate has repeatedly insisted that it’s real.
Whatever the case, the ad has been positively received by fans on Reddit, who have praised its various references, though plenty have also joked about the games becoming overshadowed by the TV show: ‘Pretty cool they made all these games from just the show.’
One fan called it ‘corny but fun,’ but also that it emphasises ‘just how slow Bethesda’s release schedule is. The fact they are advertising Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 instead of a shiny new game is sad.’
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