Spoiler warning: there’s a twist in the Fallout TV series that changes everything, considering that the show is officially part of the canon timeline. Fallout New Vegas, one of the most well-loved games in the franchise, and whether its events are considered canon are at the centre of the discourse, which fans have not been too happy about. Bethesda has an answer for the lore reveal in the Fallout TV series, but it’s a divisive one.
In the post-nuclear world of Fallout, there have been many groups vying for power, one of which is the New California Republic (NCR), which played a heavy role in the events of Fallout New Vegas. Its capital, Shady Sands, was mentioned to be blown up by VaultTec before 2281 in the show, which is the year New Vegas takes place in.
Bethesda developer Emil Pagliarulo assured fans that New Vegas was still canon, and offered a rough, albeit confusing timeline of events. However, in the game, Shady Sands is still the capital of the NCR, which would not be possible if it had been nuked prior. The tweet also included turn-based roleplaying game Fallout Tactics as part of the canon, despite its dubious semi-canon status.
Whether there’ll be a more definite answer on the events of the show and how they fit into or rewrite the canonical timeline of the games remains to be seen, but you can’t get everything right adapting a well-loved game franchise.
Fallout is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Trinity is a geek who enjoys watching anime, superhero and Sci-Fi movies and TV shows. She enjoys gaming (however has terrible gacha luck) and creates cool homebrew campaigns in her free time. She’s always up for a new adventure — with a cosy jacket and a good book in hand.
