Todd Howard gives new hope to Fallout 5 release

Thanks to the unprecedented return of the Fallout franchise, it seems like 2024 will be forever immortalised as the year the bombs dropped (again). Alongside the live-action adaptation and next-gen Fallout 4 upgrade, we've seen almost every game soar up the Steam charts.

Not that the apocalyptic adventure really needed it, but the Fallout renaissance is here. The problem is, our love of Bethesda's beloved series could soon be short-lived thanks to its future looking empiter than the Wasteland itself. Fallout Season 2 is likely several years away, while there's no sign of Fallout 5.

Todd Howard gives new hope to Fallout 5

Speaking to Kinda Funny Games, Bethesda boss Todd Howard tried to tackle our fears that the Falloutverse is about to grind to a halt. After the release of Starfield in 2023, we know work has officially begun on The Elder Scrolls 6, and beyond that, Fallout 5 will (eventually) be next.

While Howard rules out collaborating with another studio and seemingly rules out the long-mooted New Vegas sequel, he suggested that Bethesda could be about to beef up its production: "One of the things we’re focused on here is obviously making sure they’re of the highest quality, but also, you know, finding ways to increase our output."

Although he didn't directly mention Fallout 5, he continued, "We don't want to wait that long either, it's never our plan, but we want to make sure we get it right." Thankfully, it doesn't sound like Howard is going anywhere as he concluded, "My hope is to do it as long as possible, I have no plans of retiring or anything like that."

Fallout 5 won't be coming to London

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Image by Team FOLON

While Howard doesn't give us anything else to go on when it comes to the next entry in the series, there's a seemingly throwaway comment that confirms where Fallout 5 won't be set. Where Fallout is set is a major part of its story, with the likes of Fallout 3 heading to Washington, D.C., and Fallout 4 in Boston.

"My view is part of the Fallout schtick is on the Americana naivety and part of that," explained Howard, "So for us right now, it's okay to sort of acknowledge some of those other areas, but our plan is to predominantly keep it in the US." Sorry gang, but it looks like Canada and London are off the table.

Giving London the boot will come as little surprise, especially after the massive Fallout London fan mod for Fallout 4 claims it was recently "blindsided" by the next-gen upgrade. Even if Fallout won't be visiting the shores of Blighty anytime soon, that theory about packing our bags for the Big Apple still stands.